Earth, Bees, and Fire

Kathleen Doud Reilley is an encaustic painter. This ancient medium originated in the Greco-Roman Era circa 500 B.C. It involves heated beeswax and resin, to which pigments can be added and applied to the surface of wood. Doud Reilley is a Graduate of Chico State University, with a BA in Liberal Studies and Art. 

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"My desire to create began at an early age, standing in front of an easel lined with fresh paints. My mother, an artist herself, encouraged me with art lessons and gallery visits throughout my childhood. I discovered encaustics in 2003, while attending a workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and became intrigued by the ancient medium. I found a love for painting with wax and never looked back, now with over 20 years as a serigrapher. I savor this craft-like method of painting. It is so versatile: colors are translucent or opaque, you can transcribe, incorporate pastel, collage, and oil sticks. I don't commonly use a brush, but paint with plastic chips (expired credit cards), ceramic tools, rags, and stencils. A dialogue with the canvas transpires and the process is spontaneous and imaginative. It smells so divine that bees, often pass through my studio, attracted to a sweet honey fragrance.

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Thank you honeybees for producing this eco-friendly, medium."

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