Vicious Circle Painting

Luann Holmes is a contemporary artist who works in a variety of mediums including encaustic hot wax, oil and cold wax, acrylic, and collage. It is the individual qualities of each medium that form the inspiration and guide the process. She explains, “I start with a color palette and an initial drawing or idea. From there each brushstroke, application of paint, or collage appear organically and guide the next. It is the spontaneous process that allows the painting to emerge. The result is many times a complete surprise.” The element of mystery in the work is true for both artist and viewer who see the unique and the unexpected. Born in Fleetwood, PA, Holmes received a BA in Textiles from Albright College in Reading, PA. She taught for ten years in the public high school. After raising her daughters, she began a new career as a fine artist. It is her specific education in textiles that inspires her love of color and ability to successfully combine unusual color choices. Working with fabrics her whole adult life influences the layering techniques unique to each medium she selects to create original textural elements. Holmes resides and works out of her studio in Sun Valley, Idaho. Her body of work includes colorful abstract oil and cold wax as well as acrylic paintings which evoke strong emotional connections. Encaustic painting allows Holmes to lay down many layers of hot wax, scrap some off, and add more. To these encaustic paintings she uses a variety of etching tools to carve into the wax to be then filled with oil paint creating distressed lines and emphasizing shapes. Creating works in collage, she selects and assembles printed material which evokes emotional memories and experiences. Her love of typography is evident in both found materials and stencils added to her collage pieces. Holmes derives great satisfaction in creating works of art personal to her clients, designed for a particular space or designed with collage elements particular to her client’s life.