Somewhere between Painting and Photography.
The Artistic Image online class kicked off again this week, which means it was time for one of my favorite assignments. I ask students to go online and gather examples of photo encaustic work they wish they had created. Then I have them look closely at what draws them in. What themes repeat? What emotions surface right away?
Photography is woven into our everyday reality. We scroll past countless images—most of which we forget within seconds. But every now and then an image lingers. It stays with us. And more often than not, the images that stay with me are the photo encaustic works students discover and share during this assignment.
This week, a few painterly Leah MacDonald pieces stopped me in my tracks. They reminded me how beautifully photo encaustic blurs the line between photography and painting.
When photography was introduced, people predicted it would kill painting—dramatic, yes, but it does highlight how photography became the dominant medium for documenting the modern world. Today we’re creating trillions of photos every year. It’s staggering.
But something different happens when we bring encaustic into the process. A photograph becomes a starting point rather than the final statement. It becomes a sketchbook for ideas. With wax, pigments, and texture, we shift into a hybrid world where painting meets photography. And in that space, images become more memorable—richer, deeper, more expressive.
That’s exactly why I love this medium so much. It opens the door to say something that a straight photograph alone never could.
Would love to hear from you about your thoughts. Leave your comment below.
Be well….be creative,
A wonderful blog!!! You took me there a few years back and I photograph with encaustic in mind. Always. I of course do not put every photo into an encaustic painting, but it always comes to mind. New stuff happens all the time and I am loving it. Thanks for changing my world Clare. Have a great summer!!
Hi Kay, what a fabulous comment. Thank you:)
I love being in the digital age of photography, but with all the point and shoot cameras and IPhones, and the trillions of images “out there” I think it has really dumbed down the quality and recognition of a really “good” photograph. Face Book is full of “great photo” and “WOWs” as comments, when all it is is a cute subject and the image quality/composition is poor.
I used to sell many of my framed photographs at shows, but those sales slowed in the past five years. I think it is more then the economy….I just think the average person sees a nice photo and thinks, “Why of course, I could do THAT.” I’m so glad I found the encaustic process. It has enabled me to make one of a kind art pieces with my photography and sales are doing well. Most folks don’t even realize that I start with a photograph until I tell them. I cannot draw nor paint in the traditional sense, but the encaustic process makes me fell more like an “artist”….
I agree Andrea, I don’t think traditional photography sales are down because of the economy, I also think it’s because of the number of images we see on a daily basis has diminished the photograph as a piece of art.
I too am glad that you found the encaustic process.
I had read about this assignment in one of your previous blogs and tried it recently, after a period of feeling stuck with my photo encaustic work, I found new inspiration and techniques–thank you! I plan to do it periodically. There’s uch a range oft photo encaustic work out there to learn from,, including Leah Macdonald’s.
It’s an assignment that I do frequently as well…..everytime I feel stuck! And I love to see how my inspiration shifts over time.
Hi Clare. sorry this isn’t in response to your request but wanted to take advantage of being able to tell you what a fabulous show you created in Portland. My daughter Ann Topping and I spent a long time thoroughly absorbing all of the art work. We both absolutely “adored” ( probably the wrong word) the first place winner! So thank you so much for making this show happen. Diane Cassidy