Mary Farmer lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and has a studio dedicated to support a constant flow of her creativity. Mary and her husband, Michael, travel often to new and exotic places. She has a particular affinity for New York, Paris, Portland (both of them), and New Zealand.
Whether firing up the butane torch or gently scraping away layers of beeswax, Mary is in constant motion as she works. It’s a ballet, it’s a tango, it’s a funky bounce and it’s called “working in encaustic.” By adding layer upon layer of beeswax infused with Damar resin and pigment, she achieves beauty and luminosity in her encaustic work.
Following in the footsteps of such renowned painters such as Jasper Johns, she chose the unique medium of encaustic painting to express herself artistically to the world. Farmer melts beeswax and colored pigments and then applies the hot mixture to a prepared panel. She labors through hours of sculpting and layering to build vibrant images into masterful works of art. Unique to other encaustic artists, Mary often uses watercolor in her process. This unconventional technique provides a beautiful, dreamy “under painting” for her layering effects.
