Main

 
Pat Preble - Encaustic Artist

[composition using animal motifs from the cave walls of Lascaux, France] "Cow with Blue and Gold Horses"
11"x15" encaustic on paper, 1993
Copyright by Pat Preble

PAT PREBLE

Studio
P.O. Box 22682
San Francisco, CA 94122 - USA
Tel: 1 (415) 440-8565

25,000 year old primal images found in the Lascaux, France caves form the basis of a new series of paintings by Pat Preble. Preble became fascinated with these images following an archaeological tour. "Imagine the effect of going into those monuments, cathedrals, actually, from the past. We were plunged into complete darkness. Then a small light was turned on in the first cave. The cave was wide, very wide, maybe fifty or sixty feet wide, the ceiling was 20 feet high - everywhere you looked there were animals, animals, animals."


[image of various animals found on the cave walls of Lascaux, France] "The Herd I"
11"x15" encaustic on paper, 1994
Copyright by Pat Preble

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Pat Preble is a professional artist who has exhibited throughout the United States, known primarily for innovative work in the encaustic medium. This ancient art form dates back to pre-dynasty Egypt and was perfected during the Golden Age of Greece. Preble combines pure beeswax with artists pigments on paper or canvas. Her works have a luminous glow not obtainable in any other medium. Preble began her research and work in the early 1970's. Her first showing was in Minneapolis, MN in 1979. Her encaustics have been shown throughout the United States including galleries in Chicago, New York, Denver and San Francisco.


[20,000 yr. old rock carving image translated into encaustic rendering and manipulated by computer to create a cyber-glyph. 1995] "Hunt of the Skydeer"
Cyberglyph taken from 22"x30" encaustic painting
of 20,000 yr. old petroglyph. 1995-1996
Copyright by Pat Preble

COMMENTS BY THE ARTIST

"The original glyphs come from the ancient cave art rendered by the hands of men over 20,000 years ago. I have manipulated those original images with a less ancient, yet still extremely old technique that dates from 3,000 B.C., and now, the computer has also interacted with the images creating a dazzling array of digital color that in no way detracts from the originals. As "cyberglyphs," they change form depending on how they are viewed, which, by the way, is in no way different than what happens to any piece of art in the eye of any particular individual.

Hunt of the Skydeer is the first in this series. These images are coming to you across a span of more than 20 centuries. I hope you enjoy the process as they unfold.

When I first began investigating these ancient images I was struck by how many animals there must have been during the megalithic period. I am used to seeing portraits of single individuals or a picture of perhaps one animal. The ancient cave walls are covered with animals. Animals everywhere, overlapping each other and cascading from the ceilings down onto the walls. I am fascinated by this abundance of form and the megalithic freedom to overlay images one on top of the other without concern for either ground or perspective. The images cry out to be huge and it is wonderfully exhilarating to paint them onto large walls as murals.

"I have pigments that come from the mines near the caves in France. I mix these pigments with hot wax and paint with that creating a texture and surface which looks like rock. I carve into the surface with sharp tools and then overlay more pigments. The effect is very authentic looking."


[15,000 year old image of 4 dancing women from Africa] "The Dancing Ladies"
Encaustic on paper, 11" x 15", 1994
Copyright by Pat Preble

I have added Recycling and Hand Paper to my processes. If you are interested in how to make your own paper, please visit the site. It's a "how to" manual which I hope will guide people through the process of making recycled paper.

Open Studio site which shares a snapshot of my creative process.

I am available to teach workshops in your area. Please contact me at the e-mail address listed above, or by telephone or mail, if you prefer.

I have a couple of other exhibitions up on the web. Please see Cloud and Flower paintings.

You may find the following sites of interest:

World Wide Arts Resources the comprehensive arts registry on the web.

Angelight website for spiritual healing.

Ppreble2@aol.com Copyright permission is explicitly granted for educational and non-profit purposes. Please use the credit: ©Pat Preble, Artist, P.O. Box 22682, San Francisco, CA 94122. Thank you.