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Encaustic Paint
Illaria Rez
HUNGARY
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“I have worked with the magic of words for two decades, translating films and books from English and Italian into my native language Hungarian.”
Although Illaria Rez loved art, she ultimately chose to study Hungarian and Italian literature and linguistics at university, leading her to become a professional translator of hundreds of films and numerous books, including Reader’s Digest and The National Geographic.
NOTHING IS REAL | Mixed Media
$2,000
31 X 31
This painting is the last piece of a mini-series about the illusions we live in. The first one was about the MAZE we have to make ourself aware of in order to avoid big fallouts, the second one looked at the parallel worlds of mazes from above, and this one tries to show the level of microphenomena.
She began with some drawing courses and then moved on to pastel and watercolor, before starting acrylic and oil painting. Illaria enjoys attending painting courses abroad, such as a week-long workshop in Tuscany where she honed her oil painting skills alongside other art enthusiasts from around the world.
TROUBLED WATERS | Mixed Media
$700
20 X 20
I can't stop painting water as it is in its naturel environment be it the ocean or a river or a pond. In this particular one the stormy water is seemingly unify with the stormy skies, creating a very dangerous, threatening covenant which in spite of being hostile, contains the essential beauty of our Earth in itself.
After more online courses, Rez began incorporating wax into her work. Following a series of cold wax with oil pieces, she developed her love for encaustic paint during a workshop and conference on ‘Painting with Fire’ in Ireland last October. Since then, she has focused on creating encaustic portraits and abstract landscapes.
“Six years ago, I rekindled my passion for drawing and painting, taking live and online courses to relearn the basics I had acquired in high school.”
Ila’s main subject is illusion. She tries to portray the illusory nature of human existence not just in its visual but in its existential aspect as well. Water for example is one of her frequent themes to show this world’s unstable, evanescent nature, especially through her cold wax with oil paintings.
WILL O' THE WISP | Mixed Media
$2,500
28 X 36
Will o’ the wisp or fen fire is a rare phenomenon of water and fire’s simultaneous presence in a marshland. I never saw it but imagined it and painted it on my canvas with endless joy!
This is a true lyrical abstract painting showing a beautiful landscape – one of the most spectacular scenery in my country, the highlands of our lake Balaton – in a rather distorted but lovely way. I think every landscape mirrors the creator’s relation to it.
SUNSET HILLS | Mixed Media
$900
14 X 20
According to some professional opinion, the kind of encaustic artwork Ila creates, are considered to bear the marks of lyrical abstraction. She agrees that to some degree these paintings’ substance is definitely derived from abstraction, but they are always realized in a soft, ‘humanized’ manner.
“With the help of my abstract paintings, I want to show the unstable human life, the fickleness, and the forever-changing dynamics.”
“Some of my purely abstract pieces depict a world where it is hard to find solid, reliable points of reference. Nothing seems to be real when our mind dictates what we see or how we perceive reality around us, as the human mind is the same unstable and ever-changing as nature itself.”
In her encaustic portraits of children, Ila doesn’t strive for realistic representation. She is interested in showing the tension between the childish face and the already present knowledge of the painfulness of human life recognizable in the eyes. She creates her portraits based on photos of children coming from very different cultures, countries, situations, or even different eras.
THE ARC | Mixed Media
$1,500
24 X 31
Noe’s arc was safe. Here we see a broken arc sinking into the sea along everything – living and inanimate passengers – that symbolizes the completeness of our earthly life. Will anyone and anything survive?
Ila’s plan is to show as many faces of children as possible within a series called ‘Telltale Eyes.’ Although these children’s faces show different states of mind, like sorrow, loneliness, sadness, embarrassment, aloofness, shame, and reproach, they all convey the fact that even childhood happiness is often just an illusion through her encaustic artworks.
THE JUDGING ONE | Other
$550
12 X 12
I call her Heather because I painted it in Ireland during a fantastic workshop. Never made encaustic before. Actually she was my second one, but the first one in which I could see my future series of children’s portraits.
As far as Ila’s encaustic paint process, she says it is very different when she prepares a lyrical abstract encaustic work or an encaustic portrait. The former comes from a tiny idea with a great amount of improvisation. As she puts it, the brush almost drives itself to create a freehand image of the moment.
He was the real first one with all its raw brushstrokes, yet, it was a real birth of something totally new for me. Both children were painted based on photos of Robert Henri’s paintings, but none of them are slavish copies.
THE SCARED ONE | Other
$400
12 X 12
“Even though the two styles are completely different from each other, I equally love them both and always try to create on a higher and higher level in both. "
THE MISTRUSTFUL ONE | Other
$400
12 X 12
I give identity to the figures of my portraits. As their traits start to reveal themselves during the painting process, I begin to endow them with unique properties. By the time I finish the portrait, I already know their story.
Quite the opposite is the realization of encaustic portraits, where she has to conform much more to the rules required by the medium. First of all, there is a photograph in front of her that she has to copy – at least broadly. Then she has to heat the encaustic paint to the proper temperature to be able to apply it to the board in one very accurate stroke.
Why is she so timid? What is the reason behind her hiding? And yet, she is so open at the same time. Softly and openly hides her secret self.
THE ALOOF ONE | Other
$550
12 X 12
The whole process of handling encaustic paint is much more complicated and harder. It therefore doesn’t allow too much freedom to the artist. It is a demanding medium and requires a lot of skills and patience. Over time, Ila has grown to love and embrace it nonetheless and now it is something she truly cherishes.
THE UNHAPPY ONE |Other
$550
12 X 12
In spite of all her finery and frippery she is definitely a sad girl. Also, a strong character, with a strong urge to express her sadness. Being very honest she is not hiding it she shows us her vulnerability. I can feel that she is asking for help.
“Creating is a great joy for me, and although I returned to painting relatively late, I can’t imagine my days without it anymore.”
Illaria Rez
@illariarez
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