This encaustic painting started with a photo I took in Moir Park, Bloomington, down by the river bottoms…where the Minnesota River turns into Nine Mile Creek. The original was taken in mid-November when everything was dead and gray, with a low, dim sun (not the Chinese delicacies) peeking over the horizon. Still, I liked the image and thought it would be interesting to envision it in early spring, with grass emerging but prior to the trees leafing out. I brought this to the Vancouver workshop to try and realize that vision. First, I painted an underlayer in bright colors, then embedded a black and white transparent photo in the wax, so the colors would show through. I then followed up by using oil pigments on the top layer of wax to make certain areas “pop” even further.
