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 Ann Baldwin Mixed Media Encaustics Abstracts - In my mixed media abstract paintings I have set out to explore both the visual effects of text and its tendency to carry meaning whether intended or not. Although I often present words, letters, and symbols merely as shapes and patterns, so accustomed are we to interpreting these as narrative that it is sometimes impossible to see the forms alone. Color, too, gives added connotations to the words.
Some pieces have been deliberately engineered to appear theatrical and, in fact, include pages from Shakespeare's plays. Some have the glow or patina of old manuscripts, while nevertheless containing mere mechanical reproductions of calligraphy. As I paint, I also write annotations 'in the margins', commenting on a particular text or simply expressing separate thoughts and ideas.
As a teacher of Literature, an avid reader and writer, books have shaped my identity and given direction to my ideas. Each novel I encounter affects the meaning of subsequent novels. Hand annotations in the margins of used books give a clue to the reactions of other readers before me, often very different from my own. In theatres in London, where I lived for most of my life, the words of well-known plays were constantly being reinterpreted from one production of a play to the next.
I have adopted a method of painting with multiple transparent veils of paint through which collaged images or words appear and disappear, representing layers of memory and understanding. Lately I have been painting in encaustic (hot wax), a method which involves etching and incising. Often the process itself takes over from intention and I find myself erasing or covering messages which originally I intended to use to communicate an idea more directly. Thoughts get buried as others surface. Almost like the act of reading itself.
I Invite you to view a sampling of our works of art: - Ann Baldwin Gallery
To see my complete Internet Gallery of original and print art works visit my web site:
www.annbaldwin.com
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