Sunrise Over Sea
Seascape paintings handmade with beeswax, pigment and metallic leaf.
I wish I could take credit for such a perfect painting title but I stole it from John Butler (one of my top 3 favorite musicians). Sunrise Over Sea is a top-played album in my studio. His lyrics "... a brand new day, sunrise over sea…" echo in my head when I look at these paintings.
I’m so inspired by the how the sun and water play together.
I could watch the sun’s reflection dancing on the waves all day long. I’m always trying to capture that feeling in a painting. I never get bored of painting moody skies balanced with metallic touches or carving deep indigo waves into beeswax.
Encaustic medium is very versatile. The molton beeswax allows for both the most beautiful textured waves and a smooth as glass sky. There are many tools you can use to manipulate the wax, creating the desired effect. I've used everything from a household iron to that little orange tool that comes in lego sets!
Metallic leaf perfectly mimics the luminosity of the rising and setting sun. Working with it can be a a love/hate relationship. If you know, you know. I always find sparkly specks all over the place after I work with it - my face, the dog, the kid’s baseball uniform... nothing is safe. But, the shimmery results make it more than worth the trouble!