Susan Irish

Abstract work created in the ancient method of encaustic.

Beeswax is melted and used as a binder for the paint pigment. Each patch of color and layer of detail needs to be fused with a heat gun or butane torch.

It is a complicated process but the luminous colors make it so worth it. Hope you like what you see.

I love the instant gratification of working with acrylic paint. I have been striving for those lustrous layers I see in encaustic wax. All the things that called me as a child: marks, colors, patterns, scraping away layers and carving in textures now emerge.

My grandmother once asked me if I thought God was mad at us? The irregular and extreme weather patterns and onslaught of natural disaster caused her to wonder if we were being punished for our harsh treatment and blatant disregard for the earth. I said that I don’t know about God’s intent but I was pretty sure that Mother Nature was very pissed off.

So began a series of painting from Mother Nature’s point of view. I have tried to personify her, make her appear in the landscape, or emerge from a slice of cut tree. The gouged and scarred earth appear often in my paintings. In my quest for better understanding, I learned some scary facts about hydro-fracking. I believe this disturbs Mother the most.

I actually found an article in the local paper begging the same question so I incorporated the clipping in this work. It illustrated a warning that  if we are not careful the mountains will slide into the sea. See nuclear winter, melting icebergs, deforestation, and contaminated groundwater caused by hydrofraking.

Although my work is typically abstract, I am in awe that I live here so I must capture the beauty some how.

This man is reflecting on his life. Paired with the boy below and others not shown they create a poetic story on the passage of time. It was painted the year I turned 50 and my first born son turned 25. How could it be that he so swiftly became the age I was at his birth.

Mother Nature, my favorite superhero. This is the first painting in the Mother Nature Series.

Defender of the earth. Humans are no match for her fury. She thinks she is the exception but Father Time waits for no one. It is a race. Will humans realize what they have to lose before irreparable damage is rendered.

The origins of encaustic painting reach back to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. Traditionally this medium was used to create Fayum Funeral Portraits. Since wax is a preservative and the binder for this painting method, these works have survived through history.