Jim Geisinger Artist’s Statement

Every painting I do is an amazing adventure.  Seldom does a painting come out the same as I imagine.   It delights and amazes me as it takes place.  I do not pretend to have total control.  I am just a facilitator.

I started painting on Christmas 1996 when my son gave me a watercolor set.  I painted almost every night to the wee hours.  The next day, when I looked at what was painted.  I was pretty sure elves came in and worked on it after I went to bed. 

I was hooked.  I read every book in the library on painting.  Then I took lessons…and seminars from local, national, and international artists.   I studied Classical Realism at the Atelier Lack in Minneapolis for 3 years.  I took Figure painting lessons with Pat Jurde and landscape with Joe Paquet.  I continued with Still Life and portraiture with Jeff Hurinenko.   I have also participated in many painting seminars in Massachusetts,  Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, California,  Mexico, and Italy.

Easter, 2013, after decorating eggs. I put away a hot glue gun and crayons at the same time. I noticed the glue sticks were exactly the same diameter as the crayons. So…I plugged in the glue gun and stuck a crayon in it.  I painted a quick picture of a cat on a piece of cardboard. It got great reviews from my artist friends.  So I did bigger paintings.   Now I use encaustics which are very expensive crayons with a higher melting point and more professional colors.

One of the beautiful and challenging things about painting with melted crayons is I can’t be too picky.  I have to let it do its own thing to a great degree.  I suggest where it goes but it makes up its own mind.  I like to do cats because I am fascinated with their eyes.

I love the way these paintings draw you in from across the room. When you get up close you mostly see globs of colored wax that don’t make a lot of sense.  Then, the urge to touch it becomes overwhelming.  

Actually, I encourage touching.  Unlike oil paints that discolor with skin oil, you can take a cloth any time and buff it.  It just gets shinier and better.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.