My painting techniques have taken a distinctive turn from traditional encaustic art using paraffin wax as the paint medium instead of beeswax. I found the yellow-brown color of beeswax tints the pigments color of the wax. Using opaque paraffins keeps my colors true and bright. I have also developed a specially blended wax-additive base, which allows me to paint without the “burning in” process that is part of the traditional encaustic process. The “burning in” is used after each new layer of wax is added to the painting in order to permanently fuse the new top layer to the wax layers below. One of the special and beautiful characteristics of wax paint is that it freezes immediately when applied to the paintings surface and can create wonderful textures. “Burning in” can cause the surface to smooth out, loosing these textures. Using my blended wax gives me greater flexibility and with creative techniques, I achieve a wide range of textures, faux finishes, engraved and sculpted effects. My wax paint is applied with various hot styluses, hot brushes and irons, air guns and wax on wax appliqué. It is laid on as thinly polished glazes or as heavy encrusted impastos. I carve, mold, shape and scrape, building high and low reliefs.

I began a new series of wax paintings this March of 2020 entitled "Scent of Color." This series is focused on the primary colors Red, Blue and Yellow. Each painting utilizes only shades of one of the primary colors. With the Red painting I used a deep red wax pigment, a bright florescent red wax pigment and black and white wax pigments for shading the red pigments darker or lighter. The same principle was used for the blue and yellow paintings - a deep blue (yellow) wax pigment, a bright blue (yellow) wax pigment and black and white wax pigments for shading. This primary series will also include a white and black painting to complete a 5 set painting series. Although black and white not considered true colors by some, true black and true white can not be created by blending any other color pigments together, so in some sence back and white can meet the definition of primary. The White painting will use only black wax pigment for shading and the Black painting uses only white wax pigment for shading. My premise for this series is to both expressively create by color limiting myself and show the depth, tones and play within each color. This series also pushed the wax paint medium and myself with the craving relief I use to also add to the depth, tone and shadows of each piece.