Encaustic painting dates back to 100 to 300 A.D., and involves using heated bees wax and colored pigments.
Ryan lely/Sonoma valley sun
Roberta Alexander calls herself “reactionary”—because when she’s painting, she responds to what’s around her, without any preconceived idea, or preliminary sketches. And she works quickly—using encaustic—heated beeswax with added pigment that she applies in layers, then burns in.
Alexander talked about her work and life on a recent bright afternoon in the studio she shares with painter Anne Pincus in a barn on Olive Avenue, west of Arnold Drive.
When starting an encaustic painting, her first step is to brush the surface with wax that she keeps liquid in an electric frying pan. Then Alexander quickly burns it in by fanning a propane torch over the surface. An electric griddle serves as her palette, keeping the wax and pigment mixtures melted and ready. She also keeps her brushes warm so she doesn’t have to clean them after every use. Most of her paintings are on thin wood, because a canvas larger than a one-foot square will crack under the layers of wax and pigment.
An abstract artist, Alexander likes encaustic’s translucent quality, which she calls “deep dimensional.” It’s flexible, forgiving and quick—as she adds layers to a work she doesn’t have to wait long to see results. Deciding when to stop can be tricky; sometimes, Anne Pincus helps her decide. She prefers earth tones because bright colors can distract from the feelings of the moment she’s trying to communicate. Alexander often adds collage elements, burnishing old tissue paper or dress patterns to a surface. After she applies wax and heat, the paper disappears, leaving behind only what was printed on the paper.
Sonoma potter Beverly Prevost likes living with Alexander’s paintings, both at home and in her studio. She calls their simple lines “full of energy” and finds the work “joyful” and not “overworked,” because Alexander knows when to quit.
Encaustic has been around for centuries. The Egyptians used it for mummy portraits in the early centuries of the Christian Era, as did twentieth century American artist Jasper Johns, particularly in “Flag,” his mid-1950s painting of an American flag.
Alexander learned about encaustic as an art student at San Diego State in the middle 1960s. Robert Baxter, her life drawing instructor, asked a few of his students to explore it. She’s been using it ever since, which included focusing on it for an MFA at the Claremont Graduate School. When she’s not near her studio, Alexander paints with water colors, which don’t require power.
Born in Kingsburg, Alexander grew up in southern California, always drawing and painting. After college, she moved to Berkeley to work in advertising design but wound up taking kids’ portraits at J.C. Penney stores in the Bay Area. Then she became a dental assistant, working for her family dentist in Claremont to help pay for graduate school. She also received a fellowship from the state, which included a letter of congratulations from Governor Ronald Reagan (whom she did not support).
In 1970, she moved back to northern California with her husband, Carter, who worked in international sales and marketing. The couple moved to Sonoma in 1974, then spent a number of years dividing their time between here and London because of her husband’s work. He died last year.
A member of the Sonoma Arts Guild, which sells her paintings, Alexander paints three or four times a week, and keeps her prices reasonable. The Sonoma Valley Art Museum chose one for its Biennial 2007, a juried show.
Roberta Alexander
19130 Olive Avenue
Sonoma
707.935.7835
www.studio-RSA.com
Bid707@aol.com
