I use found objects and circular acrylic panels as substrates, and paint with encaustic, acrylic and metallic finishes that form a patina. Combinations are discovered, explored, proposed, rejected, and accepted as part of the artmaking process. Through this approach, I discover relationships between the elements creating rhythms, patterns and visual textures.
My ideas concerning beauty, abstraction, nature, and art are given form through the media of encaustic, acrylic, printmaking, and sculpture. Tactile painting and repetitive mark-marking serve as a record of my experience. I hope my work is a sensory experience for those that view it. For me, it is an act of discovery, a “total thing,” one that encompasses, and is intertwined with, the entirety of my life.
SHEARY CLOUGH SUITER
SHEARY CLOUGH SUITER: "I Never Played With Dolls", Opening night, installation view.
And so, for the ensuing year, I indulged in relentless play to create a completely new body of work. No filters, no censoring. Nothing too wacky or politically incorrect. After a quarter century of making pretty paintings, I wanted to make art from my inner core. I wanted to create art that wasn't afraid to reveal my personal allegiances, which might raise questions about historical and social biases that shape our thinking and dictate personal identity.
What began as a desire to stretch my artwork appears to have resulted in a desire to change the course of my art in an entirely new direction. I am now considering the question of how to be an artist who seeks to harness the power of art to encourage viewers to consider questions about their own social-political ideologies. How to encourage viewers to act on that awareness in ways that create positive change.
For more information about Sheary and her art, please go to www.backdoordesigns.com. For videos of the opening night and interviews with Sheary, go to www.youtube.com/c/ShearyCloughSuiter.
YULIA MOMONTOVA ZABRODINA
Our artist profile for this edition is about a fascinating new IEA member who sells her encaustic paintings to benefit worthy charities.
"Eugene Linovich", Encaustic on wood panel. Eugene Linovich is an amazing woman, has 4 children, is a designer, an actress, an owner of the Masterpiece clothing and jewelry brand.
All my artistic creativity is a continuation, a unique weave of water with elements and riots of color. My series of encaustic paintings, called “Style icons,” is dedicated to successful people. Nothing can replace conversation. And a portrait is that link, that nexus which we lack in reality. A portrait is as if the two souls of the artist and her hero are united. A portrait is an indispensable tribute of respect and gratitude to the person with whom the artist has met, made friends and portrayed in painting.
For more information about Yulia and her art, please go to yuliamamontova.com/en/.
