Lenard Collins

About Lenard Collins

I am an artist who loves to work with encaustic wax. I combined it with other art mediums which I try to work in bright, textural figurative and abstract paintings. I am also a ux/web designer which is my full-time job. I have always drawn and painted since high school but fell into a career in design which I love but over the years have found that working on the computer can be a bit sterile. My closest friends are mostly artist so I have always been surrounded by art but was more of the 'design the website and posters for them type' instead of me being the artist myself. I experienced a very emotional and physical breakdown after a series of devastating life events which resulted in a few months in hospital. The saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is very true in my experience and I was lucky to be given a second chance. I took the downtime to really think and consider what was missing in my life and I decided to devote more time to my art and use it as a therapy to work through my issues. I decided to try working in a new medium in which I could expand upon my existing painting skills in a new way. I had heard of encaustic painting which is basically using beeswax mixed with pigment to paint with. I quickly fell in love with the vibrant medium and began experimenting and mixing it with other mediums like oil and ink. I paint on cradled wood boards and incorporate found objects like shells, leaves, feathers and objects given to me by family and friends. I am the 9th of 10 in my large family and benefit greatly from their love and support. I have been very fortunate to visit many of the world's great art galleries and have a deep love of Italy, Greece, Ireland, France, England, Scotland, Egypt, Jordan, Russia and my native Canada. I live and work in Victoria BC and have a painting studio at Pendary House in Mechosin.