Artist Spotlight: Kelly Austin Rolo

Kelly Austin Rolo is a Denver-based artist working in the historic Art District on Santa Fe. Kelly studied design at Syracuse University and worked in the design and architectural field in NYC for many years. She moved to Denver from the east coast in 2016 and started her own journey of being a full-time artist. Rolo is an intuitive process-based creator. The first time Kelly worked with encaustic she was hooked.

"When I first started experimenting with encaustic, I discovered and was inspired by its unending possibilities; from creating texture, scraping to reveal the past from below the surface, and fusing the wax with a torch to create smooth surfaces. I am intrigued by the fragile yet durable qualities of beeswax. I was hooked on encaustic from the start because I could create with it in ways that conveyed my visions."

Rolo creates highly textured encaustic paintings, encaustic monotypes, and sculpture. She also uses encaustic monotypes as a base layer for some of her paintings as well as for collage material in her mixed media works. Rolo is the co-director of D’art Gallery in Denver, a two-year-old contemporary gallery in the Art District.

Kelly Austin Rolo working in her studio.

"I use R&F encaustic paints in all my work. I particularly like the way R&F paints respond with my printmaking processes. Their Pigment Sticks® are unrivaled. I use them as the filler for carved lines as well as a finishing glaze on most of my encaustic paintings. I also combine them in my mixed media works. In addition to using R&F products, I also take advantage of the wealth of information about encaustic techniques and information available on their website."

Confluence 1, 48” diameter x 2”, encaustic and Pigment Stick® on cradled panel.