158

A

fter a 5-year hiatus in Michigan,

Patricia Seggebruch is back in the

Paci c Northwest. Back, she says, to the

birthplace of her children and where her

artistic career began while living in Portland

in the ‘90s. The land and scenery inspire

her. "Each day exceeds in vitality and rich-

ness any color I can apply to my work. In

living and working here I ve come to not try

to recreate the views out my studio window,

but to gather the emotions they induce

and reproduce that feeling in the color and

texture of each piece I create."

One of the first awards she received was

a Mid-Michigan Art Guild design award.

Being self-taught, this award, even after hav-

ing gallery exhibits, helped her fully accept

her abilities and recognize that she was truly

an artist. The move to Washington was a

second building block in the process. Here,

she was able to get separate studio space on

her property and the complete endorsement

of her husband.

Calling it "good fortune," Seggebruch

talks about working from her own studio

on-site at her home. "I am able to play

daily with new ideas that incorporate a

variety of mediums into my work. I'll try

watercolor under encaustic, acrylic as a basis

for oil, or pastel worked into a watercolor

collage. The nature of my work allows for

experimentation and interplay of materials

without getting caught up in any limitations

of medium, style or discipline. I enjoy this

experimentation and it will always be a part

of my ever-changing style."

She often layers mediums to include

visual depth through the interplay of trans-

parency and opacity. The initial layering of

watercolor, ink or fluid acrylic begins the

process. She then studies the underpainting,

often for several weeks, before becoming

enlightened as to where to take it. "I enjoy

working in stages and often produce several

dozen underpaintings before coming back

to them. When a direction is recognized, I

will use water media, oil, collage, encaustic

or enamel to nish the piece. The goal is to

produce a painting that is rich in texture,

color and depth."

She loves encaustic and the rich, organic

depth and texture it lends to her paint-

ing style. "My abstract, color-infused work

translates to the encaustic medium the

same richness I sought in watermedia, while

enhancing depth and texture--both tactile

and visual. Its surprising versatility and

diverse range of application have me hooked.

R&F Encaustics and Daniel Smith oil paints

formulate seamlessly with the encaustic

medium of beeswax and Damar resin and

are my favorite oil products because of their

smooth, buttery make-up and rich pig-

mentation. Daniel Smith quinacridone oils

can't be beat for their translucent, luminous

pigmentation and Ampersand's Claybord

products are unsurpassed as a support for all

mediums."

Her life itself predisposes and inspires

her painting style. She has four boys, ages

10 through 16, and she and her husband

own their own business. "I am also blessed

to live on five acres full of animals, gardens

and a beautiful home. Among these diverse

commitments I

paint: A water-

color pour before

getting the kids on

the bus, a layer of

collage in between

payroll prepara-

tion, nal encaustic

application in the

unbroken peace

of mid-day. All of

these ‘busy' pieces

of my life speak to and inform the free- ow-

ing, layered, color-rich paintings I produce.

Getting together twice a month with other

like minded artists during my studio's ‘Open

Studio' time and an ‘Abstracters Gather-

ing' influences the professional side of my

art and... helps me maintain an unhurried,

focused path towards professional growth

and artistic development."