A Touch of Hope by Diane Larouche Ellard

I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. I feel a visceral connection to what I see around me, to places, to the land, to the prairies and sky. I am passionate about images expressed in texture, colour, and line. My work often expresses my love for place in a tactile way. The viewer is drawn in, drawn to touch the surface, coming close to explore the fine details and transitions as well as the overall sense of the piece.

From oil paint and acrylic to encaustic and mixed media the process of making art fascinates and engages me completely. My encaustic paintings are made with beeswax, damar resin (a natural tree sap that acts as a hardening agent), oil paint and other media. I paint in layers, fusing each layer with heat. Encaustic painting has a long history, dating back to the 5th Century B.C. The word encaustic means to burn in, which refers to the process of fusing the paint. Beeswax is impervious to moisture, it will not deteriorate, it will not yellow or darken. Encaustic paintings do not have to be varnished or protected by glass.