“Encaustic painting is painting with wax. It’s a centuries-old technique and was the first portable art medium.”

About Me

Hello. My name is Michele — with one L — and I’ve always been pretty clear about that one L. I am a graphic designer and an encaustic artist. I find that the two paths intertwine pretty nicely and can’t imagine not doing both. Encaustic painting enchanted me from the first time I saw it and was told I could touch it (really!). I took a number of classes and, over time, developed my whimsical, simple style, voice and palette. Encaustic medium, without pigment, is translucent and playing with translucency in layers or hiding and revealing is very interesting. Encaustic medium with pigment can range from very glazy to very opaque, which then ends up looking downright luscious. All of this, along with the wonderful smell of beeswax, is what has me hooked on this art form. Not only did I take a number of encaustic classes from amazing teachers, I also was an encaustic assistant with Victoria Eubanks at the Art Students League of Denver up until the pandemic (and at the same time, I moved into my own encaustic studio, so good timing!). Five years of assisting with hundreds of students was invaluable to my own career — we all explored and learned together. I now teach adults at Outside the Box Studio (Littleton, CO) and Prism Arts Workshop (Denver), and teenagers in summer camp at Art Students League of Denver, so the exploration continues.

Examples of My Work

Fun Facts

• • Hot/Cold: I had the grooviest car — a 2005 dirty blue VW Beetle convertible. At the end, the heater went out (like a vintage Beetle!), so I drove in the winter with the seat heater blasting resulting in a burning butt and freezing fingers.
• • Reader: I still read a lot of books. My record of 106 in 2022 may never be broken though. And I have a hard time remembering book plots. See: quantity of books read.
• • Jewelry: I haven't matched my earrings to each other since the mid-80s. My sister and I split pairs between the two of us. Our other sister thinks we're weird.
• • Tomatoes: I think the best meal in the world is when your mom sends you out to the garden to pick tomatoes for dinner and hands you a salt shaker. Forget filling the bowl and bringing them inside! Sit and enjoy.
• • Palimpsest: This is the word I gave my nephew for his high school graduation. He did NOT need more things, money might have been nice, but I gave him a word all for himself. Other graduation gifts have been long forgotten. Not palimpsest. Look it up!

More About Me