Gold Leaf & Encaustic

I was recently asked to do a commission piece that was quite different than my usual style, which I embraced. It reminded me of being in art school and being stretched in your abilities and problem solving, thought process, etc,


they wanted a simple piece using gold and rust, and requested I use gold leaf and encaustic, which I was very excited about trying out together. I painted with yellow ochres and golds then added gold leaf on top when the paint was dry, but when I began to put the beeswax on top, the gold leaf was embedded and didn't have the same shimmer because of the wax's thicker opacity and matte quality. You can see the gold leaf that is under the wax in these detail photos, then I decided to lay gold leaf into the hot wax as I applied another layer and it made the painting have a new dimension that was gorgeous. I wish I could have photographed this better, but it was hard to capture.

the owner of the painting has had a blank wall behind her over 100 year old Buddha sculpture for several years, not sure what to place above it because she didnt want it to take away from the beautiful ornamental qualities in her unique Buddha.


The painting will be hung on the wall, of course, this was just right after I dropped it off to get a feel for how the piece looked with the sculpture.