"Cherry Blossoms on a Stream" by Mary Hogan is on exhibit at The Arts Depot, Abingdon, Virginia.
The Arts Depot, Abingdon, Virginia, hosts an exhibit by award-winning artist Mary Hogan from Falls Mills, Virginia. Hogan is a landscape photographer who creates encaustic paintings — a mixture of pigments, melted natural beeswax and resin.
“The Emotion of Texture” opens Wednesday, April 17. There is an art demonstration and a Meet-the-Artist reception Saturday, April 20. Events that afternoon include an encaustic painting demonstration at 1 p.m., a reception at 2 p.m., artist talk at 3 p.m. and a drawing to win an original encaustic painting at 4 p.m.
This collection of her artwork delves into the intricate connection between texture and human emotion, examining this relationship through the media of photography and encaustic art. Hogan says, “Landscape photography for me is all about capturing and sharing a mood through light and texture.”
Hogan opens with a demonstration of encaustic painting during the event, and she says, “as a special gift from me, the painting I create during the demonstration will be given to one of those who attend the opening.”
At times she incorporates her photography in an encaustic piece because she loves the feeling that the encaustic medium brings to a photograph. Hogan is drawn to creating pieces with surface texture, including using the accretion technique. Accretion consists of either subtractive or additive marks or objects on the encaustic ground, which are then “dry” brushed to add many layers of wax to create a 3D texture.
Unlike many other media, beeswax is a highly sustainable natural product, making it a perfect medium for creating her nature-inspired artwork. Hogan starts with a mixture of warm beeswax and damar resin (a tree resin), which she applies in layers to a rigid surface of wood or glass. She then adds further detailing in colored wax with high-quality pigments. Each new layer is fused with the underlying layer using a heat gun or blow torch. Hogan adds extra details with PanPastels, oil pastels, India ink, shellac and occasionally digital photos on mulberry paper. This layering process creates texture and a rich sense of depth.
Finally, Hogan polishes the completed artwork with a soft cloth to enhance its gloss and intensify the colors even further. Hogan’s exhibit includes both 2D and 3D encaustic paintings. Those who attend the Artist Talk are invited to directly experience the tactile variety of textures possible in encaustic painting through 4” x 4” touchpads.
This collection includes color and black & white photography, encaustic paintings and encaustic vases. All the pieces in the show are chosen to create an instinctual emotional response from the viewer through the use of texture — from the “aww,” of the soft baby alpaca’s fur, to the serenity of an Irish beach, and even the excitement of movement in a 1961 Chevy Bel Air.
The exhibit is on display from April 17 through June 1 and is free and open to the public.
