Artist of the Month Kendra Denny Opening Reception July 2
Rockland artist Kendra Denny will be the “Artist of the Month” at the Camden Public Library during July. “I have been a painter for much of my life,” says Denny, “however, I started working with encaustics in 2011 after taking a workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.” Denny’s exhibit, “Coastal Landscapes: Encaustics by E. Kendra Denny,” will be on display at the Camden library throughout the month. There will be an opening reception for the artist on Thursday evening, July 2, at 6:00 pm, to which the public is cordially invited. The paintings are mostly of coastal Maine, “but I do have a few Ireland pieces thrown in, and they are all coastal, too!” she says.
Encaustics are a wax medium developed by the ancient Greeks, possibly as early as the ninth century BC. Traditionally a mixture of beeswax and damar resin, the medium was then tinted with a pigment to add color. “Both the history of encaustics and the wonderful versatility of working with wax had an immediate appeal to me,” Denny explains. “Having grown up in the Midcoast region of Maine, my art has always been influenced by the rich tradition of craft in this area. I have often dabbled with themes of history and cultural heritage, while always remaining tied to the sheer physical beauty of the region I call home. Almost from the first, encaustics felt like a perfect complement to this. Not only is the medium itself an ancient one (Greeks used the technique as far back as 400 B.C. to decorate and seal their ships), but the whole process of application is steeped in tradition and centuries of refined technique.
“During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, encaustics were largely forgotten, and have only recently seen a resurgence in the contemporary art world. This juxtaposition of old and new, ancient and modern, is something that appeals to me as well. Like a modern-day shipwright, I am a contemporary artist trained in a classical technique. Therefore it is natural that both of these influences should present themselves in my work. In my series of coastal landscapes, I seek to embrace traditional and modern influences to create a voice that is uniquely my own. My paintings are a celebration of the region I come from, the rich heritage of coastal life, and an expression of the deep emotional ties I feel for the coast of Maine.”
Kendra Denny studied sculpture and painting at Hampshire College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has received several awards for her work including a grant from the Reger Arts Foundation and two partial fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center. Her paintings have been exhibited in galleries throughout Maine, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington, DC. In 2008 and 2010 The Smithsonian Institution commissioned her to paint two murals for their annual Folklife Festival. Additionally in 2010, her painting “The Model School” was featured on the cover of The New Guard Review (a literary review published in Portland, Maine). Most recently Kendra spent a month as an artist in residence at the Burren College of Art in Ireland. She currently resides in Rockland, Maine.
Originally, this painting technique was developed to seal and decorate ships, however the versatile nature of encaustics was soon realized, and artists began using it in easel paintings as well, according to The Art of Encaustic Painting by Joanne Mattera. There are historical records which reference two-dimensional artists working in encaustics as early as the 4th and 5th centuries BC.
Encaustics also played a significant role in Egyptian history. From about 100 BC to 200 AD the Egyptians used encaustics to paint portraits of their deceased which were then set into mummy casings. These became known as the Fayum Portraits, taking their name from their distribution throughout the Fayum oasis.
Today artists use many different methods when working with encaustics. “I prefer a traditional mix of beeswax and damar resin,” says Denny, “but I use oil paints to tint my medium instead of pure pigment. In order to keep the wax melted, I work off a small griddle heated to about 225℉. I then apply this melted wax to wood panels using natural bristle brushes.”
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