About
Artist Bio - Marijke Gilchrist
Marijke is experienced across a range of painting mediums, collage and silk dying techniques but after a one day introduction to encaustic in January 2013, Marijke fell in 'love' with this medium and through extensive experimentation in her studio she has made the medium her own. This has led to numerous encaustic exhibitions since 2014.
From the Ancient Greek “enkaustikos” (meaning “to burn in”), encaustic painting is the process of fusing layers of beeswax mixed with natural resin and to this medium pigments are added. Encaustic is the oldest known pigment binder, with its colour remaining intact after centuries. The end product has a soft (yet durable) finish, the medium create works with a deep finish, luminous and ethereal qualities. Impervious to moisture, the wax prevents cracking or fading. (more information under the tab Encaustic Paintings and History)
Working in encaustic is a sensory experience: smelling the beeswax; feeling of the intense heat to fuse the layers; watching works unfolding from a liquid to solid state. Texture can be explored through gouging, scraping and smoothing each layer; tools include chains, dentistry equipment and linocut blades. Other materials can be incorporated, such hand‑dyed silk, teabags, rust, transferred images and found objects (including seashells and dried leaves).
Marijke's studio is in Canberra and is affectionally referred to as "The Hive". This ia a tribute to the bees whose wax makes her work possible and the notion of a hive being a center of creative industry.
Marijke was born in Holland and migrated with her parents in the early 1950s. She has been a resident of the Inner North in Canberra for over 50 years. Marijke has always been interested in painting her environment – locally, across Australia and the Antarctic.
Book Illustration
1990 One Hundred Hints on Designing Home Gardens – Peter Rudge and Tom Cahill
2012 Wahroonga – Brenda Fairbairn