Jellyfish
Kiyomi B.
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To create this artwork, I first needed to learn how to work with encaustics, since I had never worked with the medium before. I made a test painting in which I practiced playing with texture, brush strokes, and color. Once I had a feel of what I wanted to create, I decided I wanted to have my work feature a jellyfish in vibrant pinks, purples, and blue. After painting a base layer coat of black onto my board, I pasted the jellyfish on, and then covered it in a few layers of clear wax, adding texture with a large brush to create a cross hatching pattern in the background. Then, I carved away an outline of the jellyfish, carving deeper where I wanted the color to show through more, and used a smaller tool for the more detailed aspects, such as the tendrils and tentacles. Something still felt like it was missing, however, and I decided to add a little more texture by creating small bubbles (by using a stencil, I was able to shape the wax into small circles that I placed in such a way that it appears to wind around the jellyfish). Additionally, I added depth by creating a slight glow using acrylic paint and rubbing it onto the encaustic work, and the grooves of the texture kept just the right amount of paint to show the effect of a slight glow. After adding these small touches, I was satisfied with the end piece.
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Being able to explore and express my creative ideas is an outlet for myself when I want to turn my own thoughts into artwork.
