Meet The Team: Dietlind Vander Schaaf

We are proud of all of our employees, from our paint-makers to the folks answering the phone and packing orders, and everyone in between. Our ongoing feature "Meet The Team" is our way of introducing you to the fine folks behind the scenes who make R&F possible.⁠ In this week’s installment, you will meet Dietlind Vander Schaaf.

Dietlind Vander Schaaf has an MFA from the University of San Francisco and an MA from the University of Southern Maine. She has exhibited widely and her work has been featured in Maine Home + Design, Decor Maine, UPPERCASE, and Downeast magazines.

Dietlind is a Core Instructor for R&F Handmade Paints, an Ampersand Ambassador, and the former president of New England Wax. She is an annual presenter at the International Encaustic Conference and has taught workshops throughout the country, including Haystack, Arrowmont, Castle Hill, Snow Farm, Penland, Maine College of Art, R&F, and internationally at Zijdelings in The Netherlands. The recipient of grants from the Maine Arts Commission and International Encaustic Artists, as well as a Tending Space Artist Fellowship from the Hemera Foundation, she is also a certified Kripalu yoga instructor with speciality training in meditation, advanced asana, Ayurveda, and pranayama.

Dietlind Vander Schaaf, Sueño, 24” x 48”, encaustic, oil, and 23 karat gold leaf on panel, 2022.

Please tell us your job title and a brief description of what you do day to day at R&F.

I wear a bunch of different hats. I direct our Core and Tier Artist programs, oversee store demos, coordinate our paint donations, and work on special projects such as social media, email marketing, and writing for our blog. I update our various websites too. Last year I worked with artist Bettina Egli Sennhauser to build a German version of our website and this year I built one for our new rental and residency at Brown Pink. Oh, and I make our YouTube videos as well. :)

What I do day to day depends on what is most pressing, but it generally involves a lot of email and spreadsheets and problem solving. Sometimes filming in my studio or doing live virtual demos. I love my job. It allows me a ton of creative freedom and really suits me.

Dietlind in her studio in Westbrook, Maine where she films many of R&F’s YouTube videos.

How many years have you been working for R&F?

I began working for R&F in August 2018. I work remotely from my home in Maine. A few times a year I visit my colleagues in Kingston.

Dietlind Vander Schaaf, Pond II, 36” x 36”, encaustic, oil, and 23 karat gold leaf on panel, 2022.

What do you do outside of work? Do you have an art background or related practice?

When I am not working, I can either be found in my studio painting or - this time of year - in my yard gardening. I also enjoy cross country skiing, reading, cooking, hiking, and practicing yoga. I teach encaustic painting, which often involves travel - another thing I love. And in September each year I offer a week-long encaustic retreat in Maine.

If someone came to visit Kingston, what's one thing you would recommend they see/ do/ eat/ experience?

I would definitely recommend the tacos at Diegos. They are very, very good. I’d also recommend a trip to Dia Beacon. It’s about 40 minutes from Kingston. Dia Beacon has an incredible collection of work from the 1960s to present. I had the opportunity to go with a bunch of folks from R&F in 2019 and I’d return in a heartbeat.

Dietlind Vander Schaaf, Dusk, 24” x 24”, encaustic, oil, ink, graphite, and 23 karat gold leaf on panel, 2022.

Favorite color in R&F's paint line?

This is a seriously hard question. I use a lot of blue in my work - Ultramarine Blue Pale and King’s Blue are go to colors for me. I think they are in nearly everything I paint. I am also partial to shades of gray, so Cerulean Grey and Turkey Umber Pale are top contenders too. And I am madly in love with our Ancient Gold. I’ve begun using it in my paintings in addition to 23 karat gold leaf.

But if I had to pick just one color, it would probably be Courbet Green. It’s so dark - we describe it as a green version of Indigo. Super earthy and a bit somber. I mix it with a small amount of Intense Carbon Black to create many of my underpaintings.

You can see more of Dietlind’s work on her website dietlindvanderschaaf.com or follow her on Instagram @dietlindvanderschaaf.