State Auto Headquarters

E Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio

 

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”

   

“Resilience and Revival”, 72″ x 104″, Acrylic on Canvas

Artist: Karen Rumora

 

August, 2021

I was commissioned by State Auto & WSA Designers and Architects to complete a painting for their newly designed headquarters. It is displayed in the main lobby atrium on the first floor. In the first image, the lighting and glass are yet to be installed. The second and third images show the painting displayed behind the edgelit glass. I was thrilled to work on it for them and I think it turned out just fine.

Below is a link to a video of the painting’s progress.

 

 

Check out a video of the evolution:  Biophilia_State Auto_Rumora 2

Music Credit: Cole Rumora

 

New Work at Art Access

New Work
Art Access Gallery, Bexley, Ohio

Artist: Karen Rumora

 

“….But listen now to what happened
to the actual trees;
toward the end of that summer they
pushed new leaves from their stubbed limbs.
It was the wrong season, yes,
but they couldn’t stop. They
looked like telephone poles and didn’t
care. And after the leaves came
blossoms. For some things
there are no wrong seasons.
which is what I dream of for me.”

~ The Hurricane, Mary Oliver

 

 

 

This New Work series of paintings nudged me from all sides, teaching me about myself and my encaustic process. With the beginning and end of each painting came a new thought; whether its source was the pull and influence of a season, the weather, or time of day. The application of colors, shapes, and textures changed with each perspective. I tried not to let my conscious mind interfere with my actions as I laid down my marks.
I was being teased by the internal hands of mood.

At the start, silent and pensive attitudes yielded rounded, cylindrical strokes, as in “Silence” and “Spring Love“.  They were slower meditations on days trapped inside my own thoughts. Sentiments that were not ready to leave that warm space.
Other days anxiously awaited a transition and anticipation of seasonal changes and celebrations. The marks were more insistent and were guided by an intentional framework and loud purpose. The colors were more storied and were being layered in creative excitement and linear whimsy.

Finally I turned another corner and found a spot pondering the images of forest spaces, those familiar spots; negative and positive spaces of the actual imagery. Visiting, again, a recognizable environment that grounds me.

Creating these abstract paintings became a journey from a dream to a waking state. I was not only a part of the art, but a player in the alternate reality of producing the images. The universe ushered me to the chosen technique and practice. And I’ll happily do this dance again and again.

 

 

“Silence”
Encaustic Diptych, 40 x 20 (x2)

 

“Spring Love”
Encaustic Diptych, 36 x 24 (x2)

 

“Untitled 15-18”
Encaustics, 36 x 24 (x4)

 

 

“Woven Forest”
Encaustic, 40 x 20

 

“Winter Trees”
Encaustic, 24 x 12

 

“XXOO Aqua”
Encaustic Diptych, 24 x 36 (x2)

 

“Young Blossoms”
Encaustics, 12 x 12

 

 

Encaustic is a Greek word meaning “to heat or burn in” (enkaustikos).

Heat is used throughout the encaustic process, from melting the beeswax and varnish to fusing the layers of wax. Encaustic consists of natural bees wax and damar resin (crystallized tree sap). The medium can be used alone for its transparency or adhesive qualities or used pigmented. Pigments may be added to the medium, or purchased colored with traditional artist pigments. The medium is melted and applied with a brush or any tool the artist wishes to create from. Finally, each layer is then reheated to fuse it to the previous layer.

Drifting Like the Clouds in a Blue Sky

“…when we look up, it widens our horizons. we see what a little speck we are in the universe, so insignificant, and we all take ourselves so seriously, but in the sky, there are no boundaries. No differences of caste or religion or race.”
― Julia Gregson, East of the Sun

Since I started this series in March, there has been some spectacular “sky theater”. These views seemed abnormally abundant, but perhaps that is due to the fact that we were turning our focus upward. Looking up gave us a sense of relief and calm. It offers a bit of quiet –  redirecting us from the jeering and the divisiveness that stirs below the clouds. In the sky, we are all equal. It is everyone’s space to stare into  longingly.

As I painted these pieces, I drifted through the process much like vapor shifts in the sky. Encaustic is a very kinetic medium; perfect for surrendering yourself to the moment. The movement is constant and random. There is no stopping…triggered by heat, every mark is turned arbitrary. That is why it is so perfectly fitting to capture this subject using this technique.

Keep looking up.

 

 

 

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”

― John Lubbock, The Use of Life

Stop in to see my art and the other fantastic artist’s showing at the the Art Access Gallery. The paintings will be hanging from September 1 – November 1.
Please stop by or schedule an appointment.

(614) 338-8325
http://www.artaccessgallery.com/

 

Art Access 2

 

Art Access Gallery ~ It’s All New

New Work by Sharon Dougherty, Rod Hayslip, Marti Steffy, Paula Rubinstein, Karen Rumora, Ricki Rosen

Artists’ Reception January 31 from 5-8 pm.

Showing January 24 through April 15, 2020

This was a group show that I participated in at the Art Access Gallery in Bexley, Ohio. A shout-out to Sharon, Rod, Marti, Paula and Ricki ~ I was honored to hang on the same walls.  http://www.artaccessgallery.com/

 

These encaustic paintings were inspired by the beautiful environments of my recent trips to California.

The land, sea and sky rolled and undulated as if directed by a magical source. The hills floated into an endless sky and the trees stood proud and determined in their community; strengthened by the unrelenting sun, wind and fires. The sea had so much to say- hypnotizing words built of patterns and sound that pounded rhythms of calm into the soul. The light amplified the perfect views set on an incredibly vast stage. Awards should be handed out for lighting, special effects and scoring. It was a pleasure to bring these moments home. I’m looking forward to my return west to gather more inspiration.

 

Greater Columbus Convention Center

 

I am so pleased to be part of this amazing group of local artists chosen as part of a permanent collection in the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  My oil paintings are part of a series that I’ve termed “Biophilia”.  I reflect on images burned into my memory of the dancing light and colors inspired by nature.

A big thank you to Michael Reese and the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority for choosing my work and supporting other local artists like myself.

 

Biophilia Blue, 36″x36″, Oil on Canvas  &  Biophilia Red, 36″x36″, Oil on Canvas

 

These pieces are placed in a large conference room near the entrance at High Street and Goodale Street. If you are driving down Goodale at night, they are lit and you can see them from the road as well!  If there’s a serious-looking meeting going on, honk!

 

http://www.meetusincolumbus.com/our-art/gallery/