March 2012
The Edge Gallery Presents
Matthew MacDougall Encaustic Artist
Stop by the Edge Gallery today to see this fascinating show. Matthew is an artist working in encaustic painting and mixed media, and resides in Davisburg Michigan with his wife and two children. A graduate of Lawrence Technological University – School of Architecture and Design, Matthew also works as a licensed architect and creates designs for the built environment. Encaustic painting is working with a medium that changes from a fluid to a solid state in a matter of seconds and thus presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities that are welcomed by the artist. Inspiration is derived from a love for, and connection with the natural environment and the concept of ephemerality vs. permanence which shows through in his work. Primarily abstract, his work explores concepts of texture, transparency, and ambiguity.
Encaustic “painting with hot wax”…
The history of encaustic dates back to ancient Greece, where shipbuilders used beeswax and resin to seal the joints and waterproof the hulls of their vessels. Pigmenting the wax gave rise to the decorating of warships, and survives today in contemporary encaustic painting.
In order to paint with encaustic, the medium is heated to above 200 degrees and is applied and fused in layers with a variety of heating tools. The translucent nature of wax results in a particularly luminous and unique surface that is capable of taking on a variety of characteristics.
Encaustic medium consists of beeswax with damar resin(a natural resin from the damar fir tree) and pigment. Damar is used as a hardening agent, and to increase the melting point of the medium to about 162 degrees.
