ONE FOR THE BOOKS: Artist Liz Priestley with one of her paintings.
THE latest community art exhibition in Tamworth is one right out of the history books, but with a real sense of being right out of this world.
Artist Liz Priestley borrows an age-old technique going back to the Egyptians when she brings her collection of atmospheric landscape works to Ray Walsh House, the council headquarters foyer space that plays home to an eclectic mix of artistic and crafty collections on a regular basis.
The latest is On The Outer which Priestley describes as “atmospheric landscapes using a technique known as Encaustic.”
It is an age-old process first used by the Hellenised Egyptians and using a cold paste. Priestley has the benefit of modern electricity so she can work with heated molten wax.
Painting in a combination of melted beeswax and oil paints for the past few years, the artist has been able to utilise qualities of texture and transparency not found in other artistic mediums.
Oil paints are used to colour the wax, and the surface benefits from light polishing, bringing a lovely sheen to the work. Priestley says her interpretation of the landscape is centered on the portrayal of an innate emotional connection so her work is about perception rather than reality.
“As an artist, my drive was always the attempt to articulate the reaction of the senses to the landscape, which can be extremely elusive,” she said.
The exhibition opens tomorrow with an official launch at 3.30pm and runs until November 7 during council office hours.