Karen Donoghue Artwork | Painting
Having graduated from L.S.A.D in 1990, my background is in Irish fashion design.
For the past few years my artwork focuses on the ancient painting technique of encaustic meaning’ to burn in’. Extremely archival, encaustic was first practised by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B.C. In tune with a sustainable art practise, I make my own encaustic medium using a blend of Irish beeswax, tree resin and raw pigments. Heat is used throughout the whole painting process, each molten layer is fused to the previous one on a birch panel. Dry brush techniques build textures, while potters’ tools scrape away to reveal what lies beneath. I often use traditional oils in the final layers of my work.
“Getting lost in the creative process, I wander in and out of landscapes…Drawn to the aroma and luminous quality of encaustic, my art reflects the soft, diffused light of landscape. I aim to capture atmosphere, a sense of place, evoking a feeling within.”