Studio Visit with Alicia Tormey

I just returned from a wonderful visit with the talented encaustic artist, Alicia Tormey. We met at Patricia Rovzar Gallery where my solo show is on view until May 2nd. We then trotted across the street to Taste Restaurant to enjoy a lovely lunch enhanced by Alicia's beautiful work on display until mid-June. We finished the afternoon at Alicia's working studio in the enormous Inscape artist building in the International District.

A great thing about visiting working studios is that you have the opportunity to see the little personal projects and new developments and experiments that you won't see in a gallery. One of her workbenches (above) had several small works in progress. They are sweet little paintings that she refers to as her "truffles". Yummy.

Everywhere I turned there was a new discovery. The photos above are a rather poor representation of one of these fascinating projects. Alicia first created a ceramic form and then applied her unique encaustic approach to the surface. The dimensionality of the form combined with the texture and depth of the encaustic is incredibly seductive. It's as if one of the forms has popped right out of the painting and set itself squarely in the middle of the table. I can't wait to see how she continues to develop this approach.

www.aliciatormey.com

The Final Four

"and so it will ever be" 36 x 36

The final four panels for opening night on April 7th are completed and delivered to the gallery. In these paintings,

I create a surreal landscape

, where reality and imagination live together. I find the many layers of transparent wax and oil glazes incredibly seductive. As I gaze at the paintings I begin to feel as if I am inside the paintings, looking back out at the world through layers of fog. I invite you to visit Patricia Rovzar Gallery Seattle, during the month of April and share your own impressions with me here.

"beyond the wild wood comes the wide world" 36 x 36