Original artwork description:

This was an interesting painting to paint because the final result bears only a slight resemblance to the process. Painted in encaustic, which is highly-pigmented pharmaceutic grade beeswax strengthened with damar resin, what began as a highly textured surface flattened after I fused the layers (a necessary step with encaustic since one paints hot, then the wax cools). I've used powdered silver, then etched through the top layers to reveal the turquoise and dark blue underneath the surface. This is part of a series of mine of imaginary planetscapes -- inspired by images of the Earth from space and of deep space -- I invent topographies on as-yet unseen planets. A silver planet with turquoise rivers? Why not. Extremely difficult to photograph this one because the silver is either too shiny and obscures the details (of rivers, mountains, lakes), or the image just appears to be grey. One of the things I love about this one is how it changes so dramatically in the light, and reflects the ambient colors. This works as an abstract seen from across a room, and as an intriguing and complex image when viewed close-up. It's framed in a silver canvas floater frame, deep enough to product the surface, but it is all entirely fused and thus archival. Signed and dated on the back, this painting ships with a digitally-registered Certificate of Authenticity.

Materials used:

encaustic paint, cradled basswood panel, silver powdered pigment

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