This new series of encaustic painting culminated as the effect isolation & continuous lockdowns has had on my personal and creative practise. Around me, I have seen loved ones fall, unable to process the isolation and the unforeseeable shifts life has thrown at us all. As a means to keep my mental and physical health in check, I have isolated myself in my studio, a liminal space where everything is possible, a space in between order and dis-order, destruction and creation,  where worlds are created through the narratives we bring each day.

A microcosm.

This liminal state of living has given shape to my life and has become my life work and penetrated my personal and creative practise.

The series of 9 unique   8” x 8” pieces are the results of 9 days, when I have set myself the challenge to work a painting a day, putting myself in a self-imposed liminal state.Each day, I have stood at that threshold, not knowing where to go but forward, a leap in the unknown, exploring, trusting the unknown and unfamiliar.Each piece has becoming a journey.Each standing on the edge of the other, between the past and the future.Each reflecting into one day, one moment, one story.

I could tell you the story for each and every painting. However I prefer your eyes to lead you where you need to go and reflect your own story in my work .The titles alone have been set to maybe give you a sense of direction, a gold tread to lead you out of the labyrinth.

In my recent body of work, I have been compelled to explore the primal theme of light embedded in my connection to the ever changing landscape.  The works act as a reflective rendition of the remarkable light value of this land, composed entirely of the environment’s three most prominent physical characteristics, the Land, the Sea and the Sky. As the light shifts slowly through the environment, the boundaries between Land, Sea, and Sky become 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, 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

Isabelle’s creative process involves the application of semi-transparent layers of wax, paint, photography and pigment, striving to create depth and translucency without compromising the spirit of the medium or subject matter.

The physical process of encaustic painting echoes the alchemist’s repertoire of metamorphoses and process of manipulating mediums. The subject matter emerges in its true light via the transmutation of base materials through fire. During this alchemical process, matter shifts and transforms, resisting fixity, manifesting beyond the boundaries of the figurative, opening doors to a world both tangible and contemplative.

 

 

The vast sea endures an eternally appealing source of inspiration, not just for its beauty but also its metaphorical potential, stirring within us awe and fear deeply rooted in our unconscious. The raking motion of the deep, with her raw, elemental feel evokes a sense of greatness, something higher than ourselves.

In my new body of work, I explore the universal themes of flow embedded in our connection to the deep waters. In my work, I seek both the inner and outer world from beneath the dream-like layers of semi-transparent molten pigmented beeswax and try to build a unique point of reference in my quest to grasp that elusive wave, perpetually in motion.