Way back when we lived in Chicago I created a series of painting based on prairie plants. We had moved back to the midwest from Seattle in 2008 and creating work about the natural environment has always been a way to accimate to new surroundings. I was fascinated by what I learned about prairie plants and about their long root systems. In 2009 I made a small 6×6 inch painting called Beneath the Prairie. It sold fairly quickly and I always wanted to make another one. But bigger.
It’s always tricky to scale up. But square formats seem to be easier. And 20×20 inches isn’t that big.
When I first made that 6×6 inch painting I had been experimenting with using plaster as a base for my encaustic work. Either using plaster gauze with the artist books I was making at the time or experimenting with sculptural work. I also was mixing plaster and laying that down on my wood panels to create a more dimensional surface before I even started with the encaustic. Which is what I did on the 6×6 inch wood panel.
This time around I was like, eh, do I really feel like mixing up some plaster? I said no. I used plaster gauze instead, which I layered on top of the wood. It worked fine, but in hindsight I should have mixed up the plaster.
I am so happy that I finally, after 17 years (!), made a larger version of the little painting that I loved so much.