Dilys Kulchitsky
Born and raised in Edmonton Alberta, Dilys Kulchitsky, a wife, mother, Registered Nurse and Opera Singer didn't start painting until late 2014.
Photography classes in 2014 was Dilys' first foray into visual arts. She soon took up painting with acrylics and mixed media until the summer of 2015 when she was introduced to Encaustic Medium her current medium of choice.
With no formal training Dilys paints intuitively and reactively. Encaustic medium (bees wax and damar resin) allows Dilys the opportunity to explore, expand and experiment. Because of the versatility of encaustic medium she paints different styles using various techniques from landscapes and mixed media to photo-encaustic and mono-printing!
Artist Statement
Why I paint with bees wax: Bee's wax and tree resin ( aka encaustic medium) are not what initially came to mind when I thought of painting pictures but I can't think of anything else I'd rather paint with!
An encaustic painting's final outcome is quite unpredictable as the process of transferring the molten wax onto a cool surface hardens the wax immediately. It isn't a medium that you can manipulate much once it's on the panel. Fusing each layer of encaustic medium with a blowtorch provides some ability to manipulate but the medium itself decides it's final outcome and how it will interact with the previous layers and how it will move when reheated. I love this unpredictability and it is the surprise endings that keep me engaged and enthralled with the art of painting with encaustic medium.
I don't have any formal visual arts training so I paint intuitively. My experiences and inspirations come from many different aspects of my life- an opera I'm singing in, photographs I've taken on my travels, current events, music, my geographic location, the seasons and nature.
My techniques are as varied - sometimes smooth, sometimes textured, sometimes nature inspired and embedded with dried plants, sometimes abstract and geometrical.
My goal is to continue to discover the many opportunities that using encaustic medium provides and to use and manipulate this medium to express and share my many versions of my world!
My goal is to continue to discover the many opportunities that encaustic medium offers and to use and manipulate this medium to express and share my version of my world!
Check out more of Dilys' work here!