What Endures, mixed media on paper, 27x42 inches, 2020
Ruth Hamill, Striving, 2017, intaglio and calligraphy inks, gouache and watercolor on paper, 17x55 inches
This work directly followed encaustic wave paintings, which are about the fleeting nature of a wave and the illusion it represents. A wave is transient; gone by the time our eyes send the image to our brain.
These works on paper take that idea a step further. They are about the accumulation of these ever-changing moments. I look at each piece as a life caught at some point of being lived. Some are simple, cleanly layered: young. Others are chaotic and deeply layered. All start with a base of watercolor and/or gouache: our givens at birth, such as family, DNA, genealogy and geography. The more complex pieces represent the wild variations of a longer arc of life caught while being lived.