encaustic painting“McDowell’s most recent work explores images and systems within nature. This imagery portrays nature in an expansive, all-inclusive manner, incorporating the scientific as well as the idyllic associations with nature and our world. He attempts to portray the excess that is nature.”

McDowell creates these grand landscapes and teaches art at Connecticut College.  I met him in Kingstown New York, in an encaustic class called “Ahead of the Buzz”.  I loved watching him demonstrate his technique for creating such gorgeous works of art. For example, in the above painting,“Landscape Study #6”, I see etched flowers,circles, and lines. I imagine he sketched these first, in watercolors, dry pigments, or pencils . The clouds in the distance may be encaustic, or may be watercolors, delicately painted on the board. Then come the layers of encaustic paint,

There is nothing like seeing such works in person, where the translucency of the paint, the vibrancy of his drawn line , and the strenght of his vision really shines. Otherwise, here is a link his University site, which features his art……..Timothy McDowell