Ancient Medium of Art Featured in UC Clermont Gallery

Thomas Owen brings an ancient medium of encaustic art to the UC Clermont College Gallery. His exhibit, Suspensions, will run July 2 -29.
 
Owen’s work over the last several years has explored abstract expressionism in oil, acrylic and collage with mixed media and traditional approaches.  He currently works in the encaustic -- fusing layers of liquid pigmented wax -- which dates to the fifth century. Owen is influenced by contemporary encaustic artists, the techniques of the Dutch and Italian masters, traditional Japanese woodblock prints of the 18th and 19th centuries as well as his travels to Europe.

“For my own work I use filtered beeswax and Damar resin crystals. The wax is kept melted in small tins sitting on an electric griddle set at 225 degrees. The paint is applied with paintbrushes that are also kept warm on the griddle. Each new layer of wax is carefully melted with a heat gun to fuse it to the layer below. The wax hardens immediately and can be carved, shaped or incised with tools. I also suspend other bits of ephemera such as plant material, threads and gold and silver leaf,” said Owen. 

Owen’s paintings have been featured in corporate collections and on publicity materials for Newport, Kentucky’s East Row Garden Walk (1997-2001). He accepts frequent invitations to donate works for charitable causes such as the annual Carnegie Art Auction, the Fine Arts Fund campaign and Seven Days for SIDS. He has worked as a teacher and currently as a corporate education and human resources officer.
 
The UC Clermont Art Gallery is sponsored by Park National Bank and is located in the Snyder building on the UC Clermont College campus in Batavia at 4200 Clermont College Drive. Summer gallery hours are Monday - Thursday 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public.