November 2017 - Isabelle Gaborit

Hi there

Christmas is looming and plenty has been going on in the

Wild Fire& wax encaustic studio.

This week, I have been thrilled to collect and reconnect with the encaustic paintings from the exhibition ‘Land, Sea and Sky’ which have been exhibited for the last month at the Solas art gallery in County Leitrim. I had not seen them for awhile, having travelled to different galleries across Ireland over the last few months for others to see and hopefully enjoyed.

As I unwrapped each fragrant work from their protective wrapping the imagery took me daydreaming to their place of conception…the Great Sea, my most favourite subject matter which has been flowing through my work for the last few decades.

The sea calls me on a regular basis, and I tend to heed her call whenever I can escape from my daily life. I can also safely say that she definitely kept me sane over the summer when my whole world collapse on a personal level.
At time, a distant wisp of salty air carried across the land is brought to this part of Ireland, where I have been living for the last 4 months, sheltered between the mountains, the forest and the lake. This very brief wisp of salty air tends to take me by surprise as it slowly unfolds in his lingering waves memories of time past.
Having been born and raised by the sea, I have constantly hungered to see, feel, touch, smell and taste her deep waters. My purest bliss would be to swim, bathe, play and love in her velvety waves. The terrible mother tried to claim me once as a child, only to be rescued by my loving father, jumping in to prevent her waters swallowing me in the darkening abyss, claiming me.

Her salty gems have glistened on my skin and shone in my soul, I have heard her call so many times, and the rage of her waters has soothed my pains and stilled my mind in the shadiest of times.

When she calls, I pick up my camera and jump in the car. She knows the way, I can only trust. And the Burren, county Clare, is the place I always end up. Every time. The stark landscape, uncompromising, where the light pays games with the clouds, revealing world in the smallest recesses of the coves or in the depths of the ancient woods.

I have climbed the hills countless times and stood in the heights listening to the whispers of the winds and felt cleansed by the cold blustery rain.
It was only natural for me to dedicate a full series of artworks on the theme of Land, Sea and sky. In this body of work, I have been compelled to explore the primal theme of light embedded in my connection to the ever changing landscape of the Burren. Each work acts as a reflective rendition of the remarkable light value of this incredibly beautiful place, composed entirely of the environment’s three most prominent physical characteristics, the Land, the Sea and the sky. As the light shift slowly through the environment, the boundaries between each becomes increasingly blurry, each merging into the other, all becoming Light and reflections.

I strive to conjure up a sense of liminality in my paintings, where there is no separation between Land, Sea and sky, in order to ignite the imagination of the viewer while I reflect on the aesthetic power of light enhanced through layers of molten pigmented wax.
There is so much beauty in working with encaustics. The translucent layers, the smell of honey that radiates from each piece, the organic textures, and the glorious shine of each piece, I am forever in love with it.

And now here comes the good news for you my faithful subscribers. As seasonal treat, there is 15% off all week long on all the mini framed encaustic seascape which are part of the Land Sea and sky series starting immediately!

So why not treat yourself or a loved one if you are the sharing kind with a special gift made with Passion, Fire and Wax.