Paint was still drying on a couple of works done by 100 Mile House artist Gisela Gruning when she hung them at Showcase Gallery at the beginning of March.
It’s fair to say some of the paintings in her show collection are quite new.
Gruning, who is a Cariboo Artists Guild member, is the featured artist at the gallery this month.
She lights up Showcase with a colourful mix of landscapes and florals done in acrylic paint, and in her beloved encaustic waxes.
She counts herself among the ranks of local artists who were bitten by the encaustic bug a few years ago, following a workshop. Now, she jumps on any chance to use the ancient technique, which involves waxes, pigments and heat for producing long-lasting paintings.
A mixture of wax and colour is applied to the canvas or wood with a brush or knife and then is manipulated using a hot iron. Much of the result is a product of chance, but the effects are without a doubt, eye-catching.
“Some people think that the wax on the painting will melt, but it hardens like cement.”
Gruning says she likes to paint from her own photographs, and sometimes, she combines the two mediums as she has in at least one of her pieces at Showcase.
She has been seriously answering to her artistic side for the better part of eight years and says there’s nothing more forgiving than painting.
“You can always paint over top of what you have, and start over if you don’t like it. I’ve done it many times. If I really don’t like it, I put it in the garbage. Sometimes it’s just better to start from nothing.”
By showing her work, Gruning says people get to know her and they get to know her paintings. It both excites and motivates her, she adds.
“Some people have a favourite artist. I want to be someone’s favourite artist one day.”
To see Gruning’s display, visit Showcase Gallery from Monday through Saturday during normal business hours. It’s located in the South Cariboo Business Centre at 475 Birch Ave.
