Paula Blackwell is an American artist currently painting in a rural area near Portland Oregon. A practitioner of the ancient technique of encaustic (beeswax and pigment), Blackwell has developed a strong reputation as a painter deftly able to evoke emotion through her deeply expressive, evocatively atmospheric works that exist in a balanced state between realism and process-oriented expressionism. Her recent and ongoing series of small, intimate, moody works exhibit a beautiful sense of depth, subtle shifts of light, and atmospheric translucent surfaces.
Says Blackwell about her process: "My procedure in making encaustic paintings is to begin with several layers of hot liquefied beeswax combined with damar (tree) resin. I lightly fuse the wax to the ground, usually a wood panel, with a torch.
My goal is to emulate an aged or rustic appearance with each piece. I accomplish this by distressing multiple layers with various instruments , beating the surface with old keys, rocks, razor blades etc. I then back fill the marks with oil paint, scraping off the excess. I then cover that surface with another layer of wax before the actual image begins to develop."
Writer Richard Speer described the evocative effect of Blackwell's work as follows: "Eerie, phosphorescent seas and skies aflame with aurora borealis seem to float in and out of visibility in the dreamlike paintings of Paula Blackwell. Using encaustic (wax-based) media, Blackwell's vistas have the feel of semi-abstracted landscapes. In pieces such as The Shore, the artist somehow turns an expanse of cool turquoise into a field of glowing, molten lava - an effect recalling the closing moments of the "Stargate" sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey."
Says Blackwell about her process: "My procedure in making encaustic paintings is to begin with several layers of hot liquefied beeswax combined with damar (tree) resin. I lightly fuse the wax to the ground, usually a wood panel, with a torch.
My goal is to emulate an aged or rustic appearance with each piece. I accomplish this by distressing multiple layers with various instruments , beating the surface with old keys, rocks, razor blades etc. I then back fill the marks with oil paint, scraping off the excess. I then cover that surface with another layer of wax before the actual image begins to develop."
Writer Richard Speer described the evocative effect of Blackwell's work as follows: "Eerie, phosphorescent seas and skies aflame with aurora borealis seem to float in and out of visibility in the dreamlike paintings of Paula Blackwell. Using encaustic (wax-based) media, Blackwell's vistas have the feel of semi-abstracted landscapes. In pieces such as The Shore, the artist somehow turns an expanse of cool turquoise into a field of glowing, molten lava - an effect recalling the closing moments of the "Stargate" sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey."
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Paula Blackwell's Art appeared in the Spring issue of Luxe. interiors + design 2014
Her work has also appeared in the TV show "Satisfaction","House of Cards" and the movie "TED 2" and is scheduled to appear in the movie " Memoirs of an Assassin" , "Stronger" and the remake of "Jacobs Ladder" Noted Collectors include: Jessica Biel Timberlake The Nordstroms, Pike Place Condominiums Barbara Handler of Mattel Inc. AKA, Malibu Barbie |
Prints featured in Pottery Barn, Arhaus and One Kings Lane. C.V. upon request.