Golden Autumn Painting, titled Beautiful Dream, 36 x 24
The falling leaves and the fallen leaves on the ground. These move the eye around the canvas and keep the very powerful golden tree canopy from completely dominating the painting. They also have a dreamy, floating feeling, hence the title Beautiful Dream.
The leaves also form a very cool surface pattern. I’ve had many studio visitors over the years say that my encaustic paintings remind them of tapestries. I think there is a connection there, in the basic love for ornate texture, color and surface pattern, and the focus on creating a beautiful decorative object. (Yes, I’m all for beauty, the world needs more of it!)
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In most of my paintings about two thirds of the surface is highly active in terms of visual elements, but then there is always a relatively quiet place, usually the sky. I still leave some texture in the sky so you can see the artist’s hand at work, but tend to use one solid color in the sky (unless it’s a sky painting!) to serve as a resting spot, which is what the open sky is to my eye IRL.