KATERINA CAPETANOS

I am a scientist and an artist. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Biology  from Sonoma State University and I worked for many years in the sciences as a Chemist, Microbiologist and Laboratory Director. I do not have any formal training in the Fine Arts, but many years of practice over the years. 

Working with encaustic is challenging, but offers endless possibilities and Nature never disappoints to inspire. Many years of studying fungal microscopy and making slide preparations have also influenced my work. I was always astonished by the delicate and intricate structures of lichen, microscopic fungal hyphae and protozoans that I found with my light microscope.  Encaustic painting has become my vehicle for expressing the forms I find most beautiful in the world. 

The word encaustic originates from Ancient Greek: ἐγκαυστικός, which means "burning in", from ἐν en, "in'' and καίειν kaiein, "to burn",[3] and this element of heat is necessary for a painting to be called encaustic. Encaustice or Encaustike (ἐγκαυστική) is the art of painting by burning in the colors. I make all my own colors using powdered pigments, encaustic medium and oil sticks, keeping them warm on a griddle. Each color is applied to a prepared birch panel and carefully burned or fused on the panel’s surface using a blowtorch. I incorporate inks and hand-pigmented shellac-burns to the layers as the composition builds until the final botanical form is achieved. 

This process is slow and meditative as I have to wait for each layer of medium to cool before continuing the painting process. My art pieces have been described as ethereal, fluid, vibrant and full of life and each piece is one of a kind.