My husband and I spent an amazing weekend visiting Charleston, SC last weekend. It didn’t take long for me to completely fall in love with this city. The history, the beauty, the Southern charm and wonderful atmosphere were inspiring. The best part was the few hours we spent on Saturday morning doing a walking tour around the city. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about even tiny details around town, and the rest of our trip was even more amazing because of the things we learned and the significance we understood afterwards.
My favorite part were the buildings. I have photo after photo of streets and homes, wrought iron gates, churches, and even cemeteries.
When we came home, I thought of how I could convey some of the beauty I saw in a painting. I decided an abstract representation in wax would be a fun way to try putting something on canvas, especially since I’ve been wanting to experiment with encaustic wax and oil paint for a while. I added a layer or two of wax to the canvas surface, then I used oil paints, in between layers of wax, to represent the colorful homes of downtown Charleston. As I fused the wax with the oil, the paint began to run and separate a little, which was actually perfect; so many historic homes are beaten and weathered by the sea breeze, the humidity, and the changes in temperature there. The east coast can be quite brutal on wooden buildings.
I used oil pastel to add the black separation between the buildings, and rubbed it into the wax to blend it with the colored oil blocks.
Certainly this piece is a fun reminder of a beautiful place.
Very Beautiful Anjuli!