The Artist
Sherry A. Cook's career has spanned over 25 years, beginning in the
early 80's with a short stint as a middle and high school art teacher.
Thanks to the insightful mentoring of a supervising teacher she
quickly moved into a career as a professional artist. Sherry studied
at Berry College, Georgia State University and earned her Bachelor of
Fine Arts Degree from the University of Georgia in 1979. Over the
years she has sold her work at art galleries and shows around the
country. She lives and works in rural Georgia with her children, and
numerous pets.
In the course of her twenty-five year career as an artist, Sherry has
experimented with a variety of media. In fact, a unifying theme of the
work over the years is the experimental use of materials, including
handmade paper, silk, clay tiles, sheet metal, and salvaged wooden
architectural elements. The current encaustic paintings are a natural
evolution for the artist—rather that using actual objects added to the
surface of the painting to create texture, the 'wax paint' itself
creates the texture and surface relief. It is the artist's hope that
the energy of the physical process of painting with encaustic—that
quick application of molten wax, the reheating and manipulation of the
surface with irons—combined with the inherent energy of the text and
images will be felt when the work is viewed.
The Creative Process
The technique used in these paintings is encaustic. Oil paint is mixed
with microcrystalline wax for pigmentation and then melted. The molten
mixture is applied to wood panels or paper in numerous layers and
allowed to cool, at which time marks are drawn and carved into the
surface. The multiple layers create rich surface textures as well as
opportunities for translucent images to subtly emerge from below the
surface. Images and text are drawn onto the surface of the raw wood,
serving as the first layer or 'under painting'. These words and marks
are a sort of journal with intentions, poems and prayers, both global
and personal, which influence and suggest the images that emerge on
the upper layers as the painting.
Common themes in the work are one's relationship to others on life's
journey and one's spiritual connection to all that is around us.
Education
1978 - 1980 University of Georgia Athens, GA Bachelor of Fine Arts,
Textile Design
1975-1977 Berry College , Rome, GA
1981 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
HISTORY AND CARE OF ENCAUSTICS
Encaustic Painting is a medium that is over 2,000 years old. Encaustic, from the ancient Greek enkaustikos, means heat. Accordingly, molten wax, mixed with pigment, is applied quickly while the wax is fluid and malleable. Encaustic paintings range from extremely detailed, such as the famed Fayum portraits of Greco-Roman Egypt, to abstract compositions achieved with broad strokes of pure color. Examples of encaustic paintings have survived from the Greek and Roman empires and are still vibrant and colorful.
Wax has substance and translucence. In the hands of a painter, those qualities translate into a rich, luminous surface. Because wax is so translucent, beautiful effects are produced as light hits the canvas and reflects off and through the layers of wax and substrate. An encaustic painting may appear to glow because it is actually illuminated from within. Moreover, layers of wax, even thin layers, may create a surface of profound optical depth. Encaustics effects, its visual and physical properties, and its range of textural and color possibilities make it eminently suitable for use in many different contemporary styles of painting that are not adequately served by traditional oil-painting process.
IS ENCAUSTIC MORE FRAGILE THAT OTHER MEDIUMS?
All mediums have their fragilities. Paintings on canvas can puncture or rip; glass and ceramic sculptures can break; works on paper are extremely sensitive to disintegration by ultraviolet light. So, no, encaustic is not more fragile. With proper care, a well-made encaustic painting—on panel, with high-quality materials— will long outlast oil on canvas.
Encaustic’s fragility is its edges and surface. When you install your painting, hold it carefully from the sides. Once the painting is hung, it is unaffected by humidity or dryness or by ambient light and temperature. You will find that encaustic colors do not fade. Encaustic paintings are extremely durable due to the fact that wax is impervious to moisture. Encaustics will not deteriorate, yellow or darken over time.
WON’T WAX MELT?
Wax melts at 160 degrees. In normal ambient conditions your painting won’t come anywhere close to that temperature. Encaustics should be hung away from direct sunlight or a heat source such as a radiator just as you would an oil painting. Indirect sunlight is perfectly fine. Some collectors have asked if it’s safe to place encaustic work above a fireplace. If candles placed on the mantel don’t melt, neither will your painting—but feel the wall with your hand just to make sure it’s not hot. If you go away in summer, you probably keep your A/C thermostat at about 80, which is just fine for your paintings--and plants.
CARE OF THE PAINTING
Aside from hanging your encaustic painting away from direct sun or heat, you can give it a gentle buff with a clean, soft cloth once every few weeks. White cotton flannel is ideal, but a clean old white t-shirt, trimmed into seam-free squares, will do. Use light, feathery strokes in one direction. Buffing keeps the surface dust free and luminous. Some collectors have said they welcome this task as it gives them an opportunity to bond with the painting.
LEARN MORE
If you’d like to know more, The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax by Joanne Mattera (Watson-Guptill, NY: 2001) is the best published source on the subject. Written for painters, it nevertheless contains sections on history, materials and care that will be of interest to collectors as well.
SOURCES
The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax by Joanne Mattera
The Artist's Handbook by Ralph Mayer
How to Care For Your Encaustic Painting, Client Information Publication, Arden Gallery, Boston, MA
|
Contact
Sherry A. Cook
770 301-6133
email - Please use contact form below
Representation
Taylor-Kinzell Gallery, Roswell, Georgia www.taylorkinzelgallery.com
Maralyn Wilson Gallery, Birimingham, Alabama, www.maralynwilsongallery.com
Michael Murphy Gallery, Tampa, Florida www.michaelmurphygallery.com
Gallery Minerva, Asheville, North Carolina www.galleryminerva.com
The Gallery, Beaufort, South Carolina www.thegallery-beaufort.com
Dogwood Gallery, Tyrone, Georgia, www.dogwoodgallery.net
Blue, 31 Avenue E, Apalachicola, FL 32320, (850) 653-8778
Flint Gallery at Panoply, Newnan, Georgia, www.panoplyinc.com
Design on the Gulf, Seagrove Beach, Florida www.designonthegulf.com
D'Art Gallery, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles Bitterstraat, Scharloo
599-9) 560-0877
|
