Patricia Dusman

Artist's Statement

My current work is in encaustic painting and working with wax in mixed media. I am working with encaustic media because it allows me to explore colors and textures, excavate back into previous layers and really exploit the versatility of the medium. The “Inner Turmoil” series explores colors and patterns reflected in the exposed surface or hidden in the interior natural environment, whether literal or suggested. I look to convey the contrast of the two in my work. This gives the viewer a peek into the turbulence often going on underneath the presented surface image. Once the base layers of the images are painted, I often shift to the process of writing my inner-most thoughts into the wax as if scribing on ancient tablets and repeat it until legibility gives way to pattern. The words become hidden and buried much like our own thoughts and memories that are jumbled deep in our brains. These “words turned into pattern” allows the viewer to engage more with the work as they attempt to decipher its hidden meaning.