Observation (Summer Bedrock) Painting

Jane Michalski is a versatile artist primarily working in the medium of encaustic. In her current work, Jane explores this versatile medium; incorporating silk screen elements, ink jet prints and using personal photographs as sources for abstraction. A resident of Chicago for many years, she often returns to her native state of Wisconsin. Her creative energy is fueled by the presence of Lake Michigan and her love for the natural world. Jane has exhibited in the Chicago area, and in regional and national exhibitions. Her paintings are included in many private collections and have received several awards. She has received grants from the City of Chicago and the Illinois Arts Council. In addition to her studio work, Jane is currently the president of FUSEDChicago an organization for artists working in the medium of encaustic. She is a former board member of the Logan Square Chamber of the Arts and produced and curated exhibitions for The Hairpin Arts Center. Her education includes a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MA degree from the University of Illinois. As an abstract painter I believe in the power of painting to communicate ideas and emotions without words. In 2006, I fell in love with the medium of encaustic and since then have focused on mastering this medium. As my work in encaustic evolved, I searched for sources for content. I turned to photographs of a place familiar to me: North Point along the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. North Point is an outcropping of very old limestone, located close to my parent’s home in a neighborhood where my father grew up. Conditions along the shoreline change over the seasons as the lake water rises and falls. I have returned to it many times taking photographs, often aiming the camera down to photograph algae covered pools of water among the bedrock and places where the limestone drops off into the lake. The organic nature of the algae and lake debris contrasts with the hard surface of the limestone. My observations provided a means of structuring my paintings, taking into consideration formal elements and the expressive characteristics of the medium of encaustic which can be both fluid and solid. As the work progressed, I became fascinated with the presence of the bedrock and looked for other methods to build my paintings. I began to use manipulated photographs of the bedrock printed onto rice paper and incorporated into the surface of the wax.