The Shenandoah Valley Art Center, during the month of May, is featuring The Excitement of Working with Wax: An Exhibit by Astrid Heimer Tuttle.
A Staunton artist whose studio is housed in the Crowle Building (circa 1890) can be found there most days working with either cold of hot wax techniques. Tuttle’s cold wax technique involves using Gamblin Gel as her medium mixed with Dorland’s wax and paint.
This mixture enhances the luminosity and clarity of the colors, adding a translucent quality to the oil paint. Her hot wax or encaustic paintings are one of the oldest art forms, going back to Ancient Greek artists. The medium consists of beeswax melted with a small amount of resin to impart hardness; it is paint when pigment is added to the molten wax.
For Tuttle, “It becomes exciting to me with the application of heat between layers of brushstrokes. I enjoy the experimental process. The artwork can be polished to a high gloss; it can be modeled, sculpted, textured, and combined with collage materials. “
A graduate of Mary Baldwin College with a degree in Computer Science, she worked at DuPont in Waynesboro for thirty years in the IT field. She studied painting with Ron Boehmer who encouraged her to paint bigger and paint every day. She did! Recent awards include; First Place, Oils at the Bath County Art Show 2014, Waterworks Award in the Lynchburg Art Show 2014, Anne Robertson Massie Award at the Lynchburg Art Show 2013, Best in Show, SVAC Members’ Juried Show 2012.
An Opening Reception will be held May 2, 6:00-8:00 p.m. and the public is encouraged to come and meet the artist.
The Shenandoah Valley Art Center is located in downtown Waynesboro at 122 S. Wayne Avenue. Galleries are open to the public 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call (540) 949-7662 or visit www.svacart.com.
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