Gallery: May 2018

Cindy James & Dilys Kulchitsky

Gallery Reception on Friday, May 18th. Details here. 

Cindy James

Cindy James lives in Edmonton, Alberta, and has worked as a court reporter and television closed captioner since 1992. 

In 2010 Cindy participated in an encaustic painting workshop and fell in love with the vibrant colour and versatility of the medium.  She has learned her craft through various encaustic workshops both online and through travel to the United States.  As her encaustic studio has expanded in size and scope, so has her understanding and appreciation of encaustic painting and the numerous opportunities for discovery that the medium affords inquisitive artists. 

Cindy continues to focus on the exploration of the ancient medium of encaustic wax and all that it offers.

Artist Statement

Encaustic medium is a perfect fit for my inquisitive nature and my passion for learning.  I am as enamoured with the glassy smooth surfaces as I am with the textural capabilities of wax, and the ability to transform a painting into something sculptural is a constant source of wonder and delight.

Encaustic painting lends itself well to abstract depictions, and although my paintings often start with that intention, I am most drawn to emotive, sparse, surreal landscapes.  I search out the joy of small things to be found in a melancholy subject, and I seek inspiration through simplicity in a complex and chaotic world. 

I often use my original photography in my work, and I continue to explore the versatility of encaustic painting and the near limitless potential that the medium offers through mixed media.

Check out more of Cindy's work here! 

Dilys Kulchitsky

Born and raised in Edmonton Alberta, Dilys Kulchitsky, a wife, mother, Registered Nurse and Opera Singer didn't start painting until late 2014.

Photography classes in 2014 was Dilys' first foray into visual arts.  She soon took up painting with acrylics and mixed media until the summer of 2015 when she was introduced to Encaustic Medium her current medium of choice.  

With no formal training Dilys paints intuitively and reactively.  Encaustic medium (bees wax and damar resin)  allows Dilys the opportunity to explore, expand and experiment. Because of the versatility of encaustic medium she paints different styles using various techniques from landscapes and mixed media to photo-encaustic and mono-printing!

Artist Statement

Why I paint with bees wax: Bee's wax and tree resin ( aka encaustic medium) are not what initially came to mind when I thought  of painting pictures but I can't think of anything else I'd rather paint with!

An encaustic painting's final outcome is quite unpredictable as the process of transferring the molten wax onto a cool surface hardens the wax immediately.  It isn't a medium that you can manipulate much once it's on the panel.  Fusing each layer of encaustic medium with a blowtorch provides some ability to manipulate but the medium itself decides  it's final outcome and how it will interact with the previous layers and how it will move when reheated. I love this unpredictability and it is the surprise endings that keep me engaged and enthralled with the art of painting with encaustic medium.

I don't have any formal visual arts training so I paint intuitively.  My experiences and inspirations come from many different aspects of my life- an opera I'm singing in, photographs I've taken on my travels, current events, music, my geographic location, the seasons and nature.

My techniques are as varied - sometimes smooth, sometimes textured, sometimes nature inspired and embedded with dried plants, sometimes abstract and geometrical.

My goal is to continue to discover the many opportunities that using encaustic medium provides and to use and manipulate this medium to express and share my many versions of my world!

My goal is to continue to discover the many opportunities that encaustic medium offers and to use and manipulate this medium to express and share my version of my world!

Check out more of Dilys' work here!