“Sweet Dreams” encaustic art by Peg Wells
Encaustic is a Greek word meaning “to burn in” (enkaustikos). Heat is used throughout the process, from melting natural beeswax and varnish to fusing the layers of wax with dammar (crystallized tree sap). The Greeks used wax to caulk ship hulls as far back as the fifth century B.C., however their process was lost for several millennia until it was rediscovered in its art form by a US artist, Jasper Johns, in the 1950s.
Fun Facts:
Peg’s husband, a retired U.S. Navy officer, Todd Wells, crafts her frames for the encaustic and cold wax art.
Todd graduated from the US Naval Academy one year after Senator John McCain.
They have family ties with the founder of the Sisters, Oregon Outdoor Quilt show.
About the artist:
Artist Peg Wells has a nursing background. Some of the fundamental values that drive art — compassion, humanity, empathy, creativity, and expression — are the very same values that influence nursing. The creation of art is a beautiful vehicle for nurses, whether the goal is to unwind, replenish the soul or share experiences with the world. Proof that nursing and creative dreaming minds can live harmoniously.
Peg Wells images: First row:: “Golden Moments” and “Remembering (SOLD).”
Second row: “Neptune’s Dilmenna,” encaustic work in progress, and “Answering What is Still.”
Peg Wells often speaks during the Fairweather Gallery’s Seaside First Saturday Art Walks, the popular after-hours events that occur throughout March-December.
Peg married a naval officer and traveled to many countries and states. They settled in Oregon a couple of years ago, where she started on an artistic journey, first on the potter’s wheel, then into tile making, and still later into art and designing.
When I was first introduced to encaustics, I knew I had found my niche. Painting with fire enables me to introduce my travel experience into my designs. I have started using Cold Wax, also.
Encaustic allows me to create a broad range of surface effects that can be luminous, highly colored, and opaque. It lets me bring the past into the present and explore fragments from my travels in the U.S.A., Spain, and the Orient.
I was honored to have my artwork chosen for the National Global Warming exhibit at the Encaustic Gallery in Sante Fe.” –– Peg Wells
Find harmony in exquisite materials, combined with the spirit of many artists who know how to apply the mark of being in the Northwest.
Fairweather House and Gallery
612 Broadway Street
Located in the Historic Gilbert District of downtown Seaside
Representing a fine art collection by an exceptional group of more than 200 regional artists for over fifteen years.
From traditional to transitional, contemporary to realism, and impressionism to emerging art.