Janet Armstrong is a self-taught encaustic painter.  Encaustic, meaning “to burn in” is a medium comprised of beeswax and damar resin which must be fused with a heat source.  A blow torch, heat gun or iron are all tools she uses. Damar resin is made from tree sap and acts as a hardener for the beeswax as well as raising the melting point of the wax. Fusing is critical in the bonding of each layer of wax to the substrate and between layers. Janet spent years painting in oil and acrylics before falling in love with this highly textural, layered process.  She has now been working with encaustic for over a decade in her home studio in Roswell, Georgia and with expert guidance in workshops throughout Atlanta. In her early years of ceramics and collage she learned about carving, layering, and embedding which all come in very handy with encaustic painting and mixed media.  This rich, ethereal medium allows her to combine all her foundational passions at once.  Janet tends to work on many series simultaneously because the ideas keep coming and she likes to let it flow.  Janet dabbles in florals, landscapes to abstract and customized photo encaustics.

 

 

The Garden Glories collection

Painting florals brings Janet such joy that she predictably returns to them like Spring. Each floral has a mixed media foundation that may include hidden treasures of text, ribbon, papers, metal pieces and found objects. Janet’s florals are carved into the many layers of beeswax and then built up with more layers of encaustic paint.  It is Janet’s hope that her collectors appreciate the beautiful textures, flowers and the story buried within.