Much of the art I create is well-balanced and stylistically harmonious, so it can be very difficult to perceive the many layers of paint, mediums, photographs, drawings, markings and images, used to create a final picture. It can take days or months to come up with all the right pieces of the "picture puzzle" before I begin working on layering, and compositing these elements together. This happens both organically, by hand, and digitally, via computer design. From there, I move into a certain process, which is somewhat different for each medium.

Acrylic Mixed Media

Many times I begin painting, or laying a "ground" on my canvas/wood surface. By using the many wonderful acrylic mediums now on the market, I'm able to take images that I've printed, and fuse them onto/into my painted surfaces through a mechanical adhesion process. To complete the work, I continue to manipulate the canvas/wood with paint, transfers, glazes, texture and surface treatments. The result is a mix of media in a rich, multilayered painting full of texture, synergy and narrative. My paintings are not just about 'pretty imagery' on the surface, but the depth of what's below the surface, both literally and figuratively.

Encaustic is a wax based paint (composed of beeswax, resin and pigment), which is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to an absorbent surface and then reheated in order to fuse the paint.  Visually luminous, encaustic is perhaps the most beautiful of all artists' paints. It can be polished to a high gloss, carved, scraped, layered, collaged, dipped, cast, modeled, sculpted, textured, and combined with oil. Encaustic paintings do not have to be varnished or protected by glass because wax is its own protector. This is because beeswax is impervious to moisture, which is one of the major causes of deterioration in a paint film. Buffing an encaustic surface will give luster and shine.