Kanaloa and Pele – encaustic

This is an encaustic work that I finished a while ago. I was honored to have it accepted into the WAG Juried Show in May. I just got it back from being scanned and now have a beautiful image of the work. Encaustics have been around for 4000 yrs and have lasted unbelievably through the years, but due to the nature of the beeswax used in the process, it can be damaged if exposed to temperature above 150F (i.e. inside a hot car, if your home gets that hot , you probably have bigger problems than the painting.)

Kanaloa and Pele - Pati O'Neal

I created this piece to take advantage of the properties of the medium and to get really into the spirit working with the heat and trying to capture it within the work. The different textures in the painting educes the energy of the Hawaiian goddess of the volcano, Pele, meeting the Hawaiian god of the ocean/underworld, Kanaloa, as molten lava flows into the ocean on the Big Island of Hawai’i. The original is 18″h x 36″w on a cradled panel. Limited edition giclées on heavy archival rag paper and open edition matted mini-prints are available through my website at www.pationeal.com.