BIOGRAPHY
Born in Taunton, MA
EDUCATION
BFA Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
ARTISTS STATEMENT
I am always searching among my collection of orphaned, "photobooth," photographs for the man with averted eyes or the woman whose empty stare appears indifferent to communication beyond the lens. These un-selfconscious expressions are emblems of the genuine self-portrait and the inspiration for my series Biographical Annotation and Pilgrim Lake Library Committee. This exploration of the paradox of the unobserved observer in the photobooth is a continuation of my investigations of portraits of strangers. The examination is motivated by a wish to reclaim these lost and forgotten souls by re-imagining their biographies.
The images I choose for the encaustic* and mixed media portraits are selected individually and then again in response to each other. This curatorial process is somewhat circular as the photos are chosen, discarded and chosen again until an affinity develops among them. These tiny self-portraits are on my worktable for months until one day their juxtaposition, a swatch of paint, or a sketch calls for further development. I then manipulate and enlarge the image to allow for more intimacy between the viewer and the work. In this large format I can fabricate a memoir by weaving abstract, encaustic paintings and mixed media elements with the photobooth photos. Many layers of encaustic paint create a visual depth that is unique to the medium.
"A master of her medium. These paintings are a brilliant fusion of photographs from the past with contemporary figure drawings."
--Nancy di Benedetto, New York Author and Art Historian
*Encaustic is luminous, pigmented beeswax. The tree resin, damar is added to beeswax to render hardness. Encaustic paint is applied in a molten form with a brush to a rigid surface. A propane torch or heat gun is used to fuse each layer. This many layered process makes all imbedded material such as drawings or photos integral to the encaustic structure. The use of encaustic is first noted in the 4th century B.C. painted on the hulls of Greek ships. The most well known examples of early encaustic paintings are the Greco-Roman, Fayum funerary portraits, from 100 B.C. to 200 A.D. These two thousand year old encaustic paintings can still be seen in museums around the world.
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
2011 Juror's Award, Fifth International Encaustic Conference, Provincetown, MA
2005 First Prize, All Brush Exhibition, Pen & Brush Inc., New York, NY
2005 Third Prize, Ninth Annual Georgetown International Art Competition, Fraser Gallery, WAshington, DC
2005 Artist of the Month, ManhattanArts.com, February 2005
2005 Artist's Profile Award, Manhattan Arts International Small Works 2005, New York, NY
2005 Award of Excellence, Sixteenth New Jersey Small Works Show, Old Church Cultural Center, Demarest, NJ
2004 Two Award of Honorable Mention, Thirteenth National Juried Art Exhibition, Art Center of Northern New Jersey, New Milford, NJ
2000 Award of Merit 2000, Ninth Annual Cover Art Competition, Manhattan Arts International Magazine, New York, NY
1996 Merit Award, Member's Show, Art Center of NOrthern New Jersey, New Milford, NJ
1996 Honorable Mention, New York Art Review, New York, NY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mattera, Joanne. Encaustic Works '11, Kingston, NY. 2012
Nash, Catherine. Authentic Visual Voices CP&E, 2012 (Web)
Fifth Annual International Encaustic Conference Blog. Featured Artist. 2012 (Web)
Best of Worldwide Portrait & Figurative Artist Vol. 1, 2011 Kennedy Publishing, Williamsburg, VA
Shiels, Darlend. "The Drooel Collection." Drooel Contemporary Paintings From Around the Web. January, 2011 (Web)
Womack, Linda. Embracing Encaustic, 2nd Edition. Portland, OR. 2008
Phillips, Renee. The Artrepreneur Newsletter cover, New York, NY, March/April 2005
SELECT EXHIBITIONS
2012 Lights, Camera…Click: Photography in Contemporary Art, Lanoue Fine Art, Boston, MA
2012 What's in a Face, Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA
2012 Wax: Medium Meets Message, Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2012 MERGE: Encaustic & Contemporary Prints Invitational, Castle Hill Gallery, Truro, MA
2011 Ripped - The Allure of Collage, with works by Jean Arp, Kurt Schwitters, Roy Lichtenstein, Hannah Hoch, George Grosz, Dali, Romare Bearden & others, Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
2011 Kindred Spirits, Schiltkamp Art Gallery, Clark University, Worcester, MA
2011 New Views of Encaustic, Carroll House Gallery, Keene state College, Keene, NH
2010 Waxing Poetic, Hewitt Gallery, Mary Mount Manhattan College, New York, NY
2010 Confluences of Culture, Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, NY
2010 Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
2010 New Jersey Arts Annual: Fine Art. New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ
2010 121st Annual Exhibtition, National Association of Women Artists, New York, NY
2003-2009 Participated in over 35 national exhibitions
SELECT COLLECTIONS
Novo Nordisk Corporation, Copenhagen, Denmark
Rockefeller Family
TALKS
2012 Gallery Talk, Hecksher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
2012 Morean Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
2012 Wax Collage: Beyond Technique, 6th International Encaustic Conference, Provincetown, MA
2011 Schiltkamp Gallery, Clark University, Worcester, MA
2011 Hewitt Gallery, Mary Mount Manhattan College, New York, NY
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2001-2005, 2008-2010 Resident, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
1981-1993 Illustrator, New York, NY
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