June 2nd, First Friday, Antoinette Walker

For the month of June, Bunnell presents encaustic painter from Kodiak, Antoinette Walker. Exhibit opening will be on June 2nd from 5-7pm, with an artist talk at 6pm. The evening also opens the 6th Annual Community Supported Art (CSA) project and will introduce 2023 CSA artists after Antoinette’s artist talk. “My creativity and life stories are expressed with coastal marine themes that capture the wild beauty of my home, Alaska. Encaustic is my material of choice; a blend of beeswax, damar crystals and pigment. Often using charts, scraps of paper and found objects that are embedded in the wax medium. I draw upon first-hand experiences of fishing, its dangers and excitement.” “Eroding river banks, weathered canneries, set net sites, surfaces beaten by heavy winds and torrential seas and rustic landscapes tell a compelling story. With every year there are subtle changes and inspirations for a fresh perspective. I’m drawn to these surfaces with textural layers that disclose a story. Using encaustic, painting, scraping, and scratching, I seek to reveal pieces that speak of the past and present. For me, inspiration is often a mystery. In painting, one thing inspires while another fades away. As in the landscape, changes are absorbed and reconfigured.” Bio: Antoinette Walker is an encaustic painter based in Kodiak. She is known primarily for her coastal marine subjects. Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. Using encaustic and embedding papers, charts, fish tickets and found objects Antoinette creates pieces that reflect her love of Alaska. Born in 1953 and raised on Kodiak Island, she has studied and practiced art for most of her life. For the past twenty-three years her primary medium has been encaustic. Her work is recognized and collected throughout Alaska. It has been exhibited in the Anchorage Historical Museum and is held in the collections of the Pratt Museum in Homer, Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak, Baronov Museum in Kodiak, Kodiak Public Library, Providence Hospital, Kodiak, and Credit Union 1 in Kodiak. The Visual Arts Exhibition program is sponsored by North Wind Home Collection, art sales, and individual donors. Thank You!