Lindenhurst artist's work on display
Lindenhurst artist Virginia Morrisseau specializes in encaustic painting. The technique is believed to be more than 2,000 years old and dates back to ancient Greece.
Beeswax combined with linseed oil, varnish and turpentine forms the base of the paint. Oil paints are added for color. The mixture is then applied in daubs with a palette knife. The paint is then melted under a heat gun where colors melt into each other, creating unexpected and beautiful combinations.
Morrisseau, 83, created a piece titled, "Let us Rejoice and be Glad," for the Wildwood Presbyterian Church where she is a member. A labor of love, the artwork took nearly 120 hours to complete. It is on permanent display in the church.
Lindenhurst artist Virginia Morrisseau, top right, and her encaustic painting on display at the Wildwood Presbyterian Church in Grayslake. Church members including Austin Woodruff, left, Sam Blair and Elizabeth Woodruff are encouraged to feel the texture of the painting made with colored beeswax.
Paul Valade | Staff Photographer