Artist's Statements

Aluminum Decantations

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My work is about process with an emphasis on the organic properties of the materials I use and how they mimic nature and landscape.  With my encaustic paintings I use a vocabulary of techniques to create a space.  Ink and acrylic stain and bleed on the canvas creating a sketch.  The splatters and glazes of oil fluidly represent the effects of water and reflection.  Lines and gouges in the wax form trees.  Beeswax blends and diffuses creating atmosphere.  I do not render a landscape as much as I allow the materials to naturally create one.

The aluminum series developed from the same approach.  I began to notice the buildup of residue on the inside of the buckets I use to wash my brushes.  The patinas of paint created a beautiful gradation of color and texture.  Concurrent with these observations were my walks along the inlets of San Francisco Bay.  My painting studio rests on the shores of India Basin.  The low tides create patterns of kelp, and earth that blend into the tranquil waters.
I use aluminum and steel sheets so that I can work on a smooth and consistent surface.  The sheets are sanded, sometimes primed and submerged in several gallons of mineral spirits.  I pour oil paint into the solution and mix it until it is cloudy.  Over the period of several days the particles of oil color precipitate and leave sediment on the aluminum.   After the oil has completely separated from the mineral spirits I repeat the process with another color.  I will sometimes sand or manipulate the surface after the bath.  The painting is sealed with a protective finish and mounted on a wood substrate.

Encaustic Series

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Robin Denevan’s latest work was inspired by his recent trip to China’s Yunnan Province.  His paintings are based on drawings he did of the Yangtze River in an area that will soon be dammed and flooded.  He did these studies during the dry season when sandbars and islands cut the river into many paths and shapes.  It was a unique opportunity to see such a magnificent and haunting landscape.
Denevan has been working with encaustic for over a decade.  His process begins with drawings of the exotic landscapes he visits which are the source material for his paintings once he has returned home to his studio in San Francisco.  The paintings are on canvas stretched over a wood panel, which provides a rigid and porous surface.  Denevan melts resin and beeswax together and applies it with a brush.  His paintings have many layers of wax and oil paint.  He continually adds materials and then removes them with solvents, sandpaper, and a variety of sharp tools.  The finished work is both luminescent and beautifully textured.