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This intimate ground study brings together weight and luminosity in a small, concentrated form. Built upon a traditional organic gesso ground, layers of Venetian red earth pigment are worked slowly into the surface, their mineral depth holding traces of pressure, abrasion and time. Encaustic wax is burned into the ground, binding and preserving the strata beneath while allowing subtle fissures, erosion and tension to remain visible.
Platinum gold leaf is applied as a restrained counterpoint; cool, reflective, and responsive to shifting light. Its surface records minute changes over time, welcoming tarnish and patina as signs of impermanence and gentle decay. These evolving marks speak to erosion, loss, and a slow, natural transformation.
Both elemental and contemplative, Petit Venetian Red & Platinum is a meditation on impermanence: the balance between endurance and fragility, preservation and dissolution. In its small scale, the work holds the same material intensity as the larger paintings, inviting close attention and a lingering, reflective gaze; a subtle reflection on time, decay, and the beauty of imperfection.