Breakers and Waves – Kathy Ostrander Roberts, Artist Choice

“There is something magical in the movement of wax and resin. It replicates the movement of Maine waters to which I am inexplicably drawn. It too, ebbs and flows, builds and, breaks,” says Kathy Ostrander Roberts, one of thirteen artists in the 8th Annual Choice Art Show.

Breakers and Waves is Roberts’s Artist Choice and for her a relatively easy one.
“I love the movement of it, the scale, and overall tone. It is one of the bigger paintings I’ve done,” says Roberts. “It held me captive every minute of its creation.”

The depth of the pieces Roberts creates, sometimes fifteen or more layers of wax, allows her to occasionally embed bits of ancient ephemera like ship-captains letters or bits of mica, birch bark or other treasures one might find along the coast.

“Having worked for years in dry pigment in the form of pastels, I find using a blow torch to paint, very freeing,” says Roberts. “It is not only rhythmical but can be meditative as well. The outcome is never certain, and the result is always engaging.”

Roberts typically paints bodies of water and the movement of oceans. Occasionally she paints landscapes with dark and moody callings, bog-like and eerie.

“This ancient medium has been around since the fifth century and has had a renaissance of followers in the last decade. It is unlike any art ever experienced,” Roberts shares. “I encourage viewers to touch the surface. It has a texture that should be touched! I also encourage viewers to get up close and really see the surface of the wax, which can be carved, polished, raised, or smooth. It is delightfully dimensional.”

Roberts has three works at Shows on Maine Art Hill for the 8th Annual Choice Art Show.  The Choice Show can be seen every day from 10 am to 5 pm at the 10 Chase Hill Road address, as well as online at The 8th Annual Choice Art Show.

To learn more about this artist follow the links below

Kathy Ostrander Roberts’s Artist Insights and Stories

Kathy Ostrander Roberts’s Complete Collection at Maine Art Hill