Anne Smidt is our featured artist for April/May. We have a number of her lovely encaustics here at Rockhoppers. Her work is both grounded in Whidbey's landscapes, and whimsical. Often very colorful, her encaustic techniques allow for great contrast and very rich color depth and saturation.
Folk Art on Whidbey Island.
So Rockhoppers has a new artist. Anne Smidt is a mixed media artist who does Creative Encaustic Renderings. Unlike so many other Encaustic artists Anne's work is colorful, vibrant and full of whimsy.
Anne never received formal art training, but for many years painted "functional art furniture: and acrylic "text memorabilia" on canvas. Anne spent 28 years in the high tech industry as an event planner and was surrounded by many talented, artistic people throughout her marketing career.
Anne paints to express her love for her circle of friends, Puget Sound, and her home state, Idaho. She also paints angels in loving memory of her mom, Ruby.Anne is a member of the Island Art Council and is on the committee of the Open Studio Tour on Whidbey Island.
Anne's work is done solely in Encaustic painting. This method uses a medium composed of beeswax and damar resin to which colored pigments are added. The heated was is then applied to a surface- usually wood. Each layer is fused with a heat gun or torch. The word Encaustic comes from the Greek and means to burn in. This technique was first notably used in Fayum mummy portraits from Egypt around 100-300 CE.
Anne's work will be with us for quite a while but if you get a chance please come check it out. She will be swapping out her pieces every couple of months.
Anne Smidt comes to Rockhoppers on Whidbey Island.
