Marijke Gilchrist

Encaustic is the oldest known pigment binder, with its colour remaining intact after centuries.  The end product has a soft (yet durable) finish.  Impervious to moisture, the wax prevents cracking or fading. 

Working in encaustic is a sensory experience: smelling the beeswax; feeling of the intense heat used to fuse the layers; watching works unfolding from a liquid to solid state.  Texture can be explored through gouging, scraping and smoothing each layer; tools include chains, dentistry equipment and linocut blades. Other materials can be incorporated, such hand‑dyed silk, teabags, rust, transferred images and found objects (including seashells and dried seaweed).

Marijke was born in Holland and migrated with her parents in the early 1950s.  She has been a resident of the Inner North in Canberra for over 50 years.  Marijke has always been interested in painting her environment – locally, across Australia and overseas.