People & Places: Cecile Chong, Brad Ellis & Flo Bartell
Our third round of "People & Places" showcases a group of diverse and talented artists from the North, South, and West working with R&F Handmade Paints.
In the North, we look at artist Cecile Chong. Chong is a multimedia artist who employs painting, sculpture, installation, and video in her practice. She layers materials, identities, histories, and languages throughout her work.
In the South, we look at Brad Ellis's geometric, colorful, and abstract encaustic paintings. Ellis's imagery ranges from tightly rendered systematic patterns to loosely constructed, expressionistic compositions.
In the West, we look at Flo Bartell. Bartell's methods excavate through layers and imagery to find the stories, scars, and symbols within. Bartell combines encaustic and mixed media in her work.
Cecile Chong, Detail: Day in Court, 40" x 20", encaustic and mixed media on wood.
CECILE CHONG / NORTH
Cecile Chong is an Ecuadorian born, New York-based multimedia artist. Chong has had solo exhibitions with Smack Mellon, Kenise Barnes Fine Art, and many others. Some of her awarded fellowships and residencies include Block Gallery / AIM Artist Hub, BRIC Media Arts, the Joan Mitchell Center, and Socrates Sculpture Park. Her public art installation "EL DORADO - The New Forty Niners" has been installed in four boroughs of NYC. She received an MFA from Parsons, an MA from Hunter College, and a BA in Studio Art from Queens College.
On working with encaustic...
Encaustic in my work functions as paint and adhesive and it allows me to work in layers. There are around 25 to 30 layers of encaustic in each painting. My process becomes almost like a collage as I add something different to each layer (rice paper, volcanic ash, powder pigment, metal leaf, circuit board materials). The texture of my landscapes are chunks and bits of pigmented encaustic of different colors that have been collected and excavated from my work table over time. For my figures I use an etching tool to carve out the lines, creating a thin channel which I then fill with Pigment Sticks in graphite or metallic colors. Ever since I took an encaustic workshop in Kingston with Cynthia Winika in the summer of 2006, I have faithfully been using R&F Handmade Paints for their vast selection of vibrant colors and for their consistency in quality.
Brad Ellis, Dash #16, 36" x 48", encaustic and collage on canvas.
BRAD ELLIS / SOUTH
Brad Ellis is a Texas-based abstract painter. He has embraced the ancient medium of encaustic throughout his career. He blends the pure physicality of the paint with various collage elements to energize the surface of his work. Brad earned his BFA from the University of Tulsa and his work is represented by several art galleries across the country. His paintings are included in prominent private and corporate art collections and are included in the U. S. State Department’s Art In Embassies Program. He was recently commissioned to be a Facebook Artist In Residence in their new office in Austin, TX, where he completed two large-scale murals.
Brad on R&F Handmade Paints...
"I have been painting with encaustics from R&F for many years now and have been very pleased with the quality and variety of their products. All the folks at R&F that I have interacted with have been very knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. 2020 has been a very challenging year for many of us in the art community so I'm glad that R&F is still here doing what they do best!"
Flo Bartell, Revelation, 48" x 36", mixed media and encaustic on wood panel.
FLO BARTELL / WEST
Flo was born into a southern family of teachers, needlewomen, musicians, and artists. The influence of strong, creative women shaped her determined, inquiring approach to life and art. Though her passion for art continued, she pursued a career in education and mental health. After many years of working in those disciplines, she opened a needlework business and taught needle arts. She also began to study art again.
Flo now divides her time between family, music, creating, and teaching. She brings a lifetime of passion, curiosity, and experience to her studio, enjoying the texture, versatility, and intense colors possible with encaustic. She often combines fiber with wax in dimensional paintings and sculptures. She is an award-winning artist who lives, teaches, and works on the Central Coast of California, exhibits widely in the region, and is represented by Art Central Gallery in San Luis Obispo, California. In addition to leading local art associations and artist groups, she has served on the board for International Encaustic Artists, has been an editor for Wax Fusion, and organized major international exhibits for IEA.
Flo on working with encaustic...
I first encountered encaustic in 2003. Initially seduced by the feel of the wax and the expectation of adding photo transfer to my work, I began investigating and experimenting. I explored possibilities and discovered what worked and what didn't as well as which materials suited my needs. In 2007, through a one day workshop, I discovered R&F encaustic. I have since worked primarily with R&F paint. I have come to rely on R&F colors that suit my palette and the predictably fine, smooth texture of their paint and Pigment Sticks. My paintings, sculptures, and fiber pieces evolve, even when I try to plan. I build up layers, then scrape them away, revealing a history. Then I add more wax. I experiment, construct, deconstruct, and re-do until my art tells my story.