Spirit Animals and Rural Icons

THE HORSE

The spirit of the horse has motivated Dona Mara to use this majestic animal as the subject in many paintings in 2026. She has adopted her techniques of encaustic as well as cold wax and oil paint combinations for this series.

Encaustic is a wax based paint (composed of beeswax, damar resin and pigment), which is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to an absorbent surface and then reheated in order to fuse the paint.  The word ‘encaustic’ comes from the Greek word enkaiein, meaning to burn in, referring to the process of fusing the paint.  It was used by the Greeks and Romans 2500 years ago and has been used by artists ever since. One of the best known work is Jasper Johns “American Flag” at Moma in NYC.

Cold wax medium,,, is an oil painting medium. It is composed mainly of beeswax, with a small amount of solvent to soften it and other ingredients to aid in drying time. It has a soft, paste-like consistency at room temperature and dries to a matte surface. Unlike encaustic processes, it requires no heat to use it. Many luminous and unique effects are possible using CWM.

Pigment sticks are oil, wax painting sticks …..oil paint with enough wax for the paint to be molded into stick form. They allow the painter to draw or paint directly onto a surface without brushes, palettes, paint tubes, or solvents……materials: natural wax, linseed oil, and pigment.

THE BARN

Dona Mara continues the theme of antique barns in our area as subjects. Their character and history speaks of the agrarian life which Vermont is noted for. She calls this series “Ordinary Icons”, documenting the rural beauty and personality of life on the farm in a contemporary style.

Her painting focus involves exploring materials and processes in art making to create a tension using the push/pull of surface and depth. Elements of abstraction and representation can be seen in her many interpretations which place emphasis on shape and color. There are subtle tonal variations and bold line qualities with contrasting hues to interest the viewers.

She values what the Japanese call wabi sabi, finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness. This aesthetic celebrates the accidental, the hesitant line, the rough rendering with flawed or aged appearance, encouraging authentic existence.