About Alex
- I love to paint with my fingers and put purple streaks in my hair.
- When it comes to canvases and batches of wax, bigger is always better.
- I am a perfectionist who loves imperfections in my art.
- I'm inspired by life, love, sex, nature, controversy, fascinating theories, unconventional ideas, and anything else that grabs my attention.
- I laugh at myself, accept my weakness, embrace my strengths and question my boundaries.
- I paint and paint and paint.
Sometimes I enjoy being social... most of the time I'd just rather be painting. But I do make an attempt to stay in touch with folks. Contact email on this site is for business only. For everything else, please reach out on the sites below:
- LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/in/alexmit
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lex.mitchell
About Encaustic Painting
Encaustic painting refers to painting with wax. Artists combine a mixture of damar resin and beeswax to create a medium that works well for the type of painting they want to create.
There are many rules to working with encaustic paints. I tend to ignore them all, except for fusing. It's essential that the layers of wax are bonded together. This can be achieved by applying heat to the top layer of wax until it adheres to the layer below. Most encaustic painters use a heat gun, but fusing can also be achieved with torches, irons, and light bulbs.
I was drawn to encaustic because of the flexibility it offers. An artist can embed items in the layers creating a 3D feel to the piece with each item appearing to float through the depths of the painting.
Almost anything can be embedded; paper, fabric, drawings, wood, metal. Carving into the layers is also another way to add dimension and texture to encaustic. The possibilities are endless which makes working with this medium so much fun.
About My Encaustic Process
For my larger paintings, I work mostly with clear wax and usually create texture in the top most layer. The texture is hard to capture with photography, but when you stand in front of the paintings, the interplay of the color and lighting within the texture is dramatic. Not to mention the feel of the paintings... litterally running your hands over the textured wax. It's addictive.
I spend days slowly building up layers of color. While the process of adding and subtracting color is time consuming, it does create beautiful blends that can't otherwise be achieved.
For my smaller paintings, I typically use pigmented wax. My drawings have many fine lines and details (the opposite of the simplicity I want in the larger paintings), so having a solid color beneath creates the desired dramatic contrast. However, I've also used oil pastels, oil paint, oil sticks, watercolor, gouache, paper and fabric to add color in these pieces.