This encaustic miniature painting is part of the new Bird Saints series featuring gold halos using genuine 23 carat gold-leaf.

A fierce and flashy member of Northern Cardinals, Saint C. cardinalis is recognized and revered for his heroic dispersal of seeds - helping to spread and propagate orchards of mulberry, serviceberry, flowering dogwood, crabapple and spruce.

While I have developed visual themes which are repeated, each painting in the “bird thought” and “bird saint” series is a unique, open edition multiple, and handmade by myself using collaged paper, watercolor, charcoal, graphite, 23 carat gold-leaf, and encaustic paint. Scroll to the bottom of my Etsy shop page to view a video of my process.

The wax surface is luminous and smooth, though areas of wax have been carved away to reveal parts of the underpainting and also to add texture and dimension. Given the dynamic nature of melted, pigmented wax, carving, and brush/line strokes ... there will never be two that are exactly alike.

Each painting is created on a 3" x 5" wood panel that is 1 1/2” deep.

Encaustic is a paint composed of beeswax, damar resin and pigment. The term “Encaustic” is often used to describe both the paint itself, and the method for using it. Encaustic paint is applied molten to an absorbent surface, and then fused, (or re-melted), to create a variety of effects. Once the surface has cooled, the paint has reached a permanent finish.

Encaustic paintings should be protected from extreme heat and freezing. Do not hang paintings in direct sunlight.

Keep in mind that the actual colors in the painting may vary slightly from the pictures you see due to color variations on different computer monitors.

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