Artist Annie Darling
Artist Statement
Art is exploration and acceptance.
It is traveling down a road and seeing where it leads.
It is beginning in one place and ending up in another.
It is discovering something unexpected that changes everything.
It is considering options and risking it all for something better.
Art is the epitome of being free: free to succeed and free to fail.
It requires being bedfellows with imperfection and accepting that you will be seen exactly as you are in the moment.
The Encaustic Medium: Reimagined
Encaustic painting is an intensely physical, intellectual and spiritual pursuit. I began working in the medium during a particularly difficult time in my life. The tactile nature of the process surprised me with an opportunity to work through my loss in a profound, yet productive way. The breadth of the encaustic medium fascinates me. I am curious about what the medium can do, and I spend much of my time exploring unconventional methodologies that live on the edge of typical encaustic techniques.
My Process
My creative process is an involved and organic one. I paint on large wooden panels that lie flat and require me to continually move around them. As my body travels around the painting—dripping, ironing, and fusing the pigmented wax into place—I am constantly assessing the state of the composition: the relationship of each element to one another, the saturation of color, the detail and depth of each layer, the viscosity of the wax and the changes occurring before me. In essence, my work is a communication between me and the painting; a conversation where each layer—every element—informs the next. The resulting work of art is the embodiment of an experience so intricate and personal that it can never be recreated.
