The Tree Is the Real ThingEncaustic & Mixed Media on wood
24" x 24"
April 2010
title from the quote: "Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
-Abraham Lincoln
I started this large encaustic painting in June of last year and I finally finished it today! What a great feeling to get this monkey off of my back :) Seriously though, I've had a good time trying out some new techniques and color schemes and trying to make it all meld.
I had known that I wanted to use this image but I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it. It went through many lives, as I posted in an animated gif last year, and I finally pared it down to the elements that I thought it really needed. This was supposed to be another in the series of "Ghost of the Past" but it definitely has a different story than the others so I'm letting it into the world on its own.
Posts
What a striking painting - I love it!
i've only done two encaustic pieces this large and they nearly did me in...this is amazing. i love the roots underfoot and the colors are captivating....congrats jamie.
it's a haunting, mysterious and dreamlike image. Are you using actual photos in this piece?
Beth- It surely almost did me in, too! The fusing of such a large piece over and over is the hardest part!
Shanna- Yes, the image is a print of a photo from the National Archives.