Bonnie E. Koenig
BONNIE KOENIG - PAINTER (OIL, ACRYLIC, ENCAUSTIC) — Bonnie Koenig states: "My work is concerned with texture from nature, minimalism and abstraction of form. The use of color and light are the prominent vehicles used to create movement, depict a place, and evoke a mood.
I grew up in Virginia. Finding my inspiration from nature and specifically beautiful landscapes is easy to understand. I find that my inspiration come from the intricacies and colors of nature and from natural formations. Some paintings are derived from on-site compositions while others are created from internal inspirations. The encaustic work has moved closer toward a mixture of complexity of layering within fluid simplification of forms, sensual line, and expressive mark-making. These works are a use of ancient materials for contemporary art.
Let me explain my journey.
My education in art started at the University of Texas, Austin. I studied there for a little over two years. Our family was transferred to Kansas where I completed my degree at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. I am sharing this because this is when I discovered the encaustic medium.
I chose to paint with encaustic was while in college in Lawrence. I had not seen anyone paint with encaustic during this time, but one of my senior professors encouraged me to try the medium because he felt it would be a good fit for my sensibilities and the transparency of the medium would allow me to have the layering I long for in my work.
I found that the encaustic is a technique which was used by the ancient Egyptians, and other ancient societies, to paint the portraits for the tombs, because it would last the test of time. Quote: . Due to the hot dry Egyptian climate, the paintings are frequently very well preserved, often retaining their brilliant colours seemingly unfaded by time. (wikipedia: search:encaustic painting)
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