DSR2, ink, paper, thread, beeswax

Marilyn Joyce is a Portland-based mixed media artist whose current portfolio features works made with combinations of paper, ink, and beeswax. Marilyn’s artworks are inspired by direct observation of the natural world, gleaned through a regular walking practice. 

What is above all of us, ink, paper, thread, beeswax

I really love the pieces in Marilyn’s Dark Sky Rhythm series. As the name might suggest, these works perfectly capture the colour gradient of a dark sky, whether darkening, as in twilight, or fading toward daylight in the early hours of the morning. The works appear deceptively simple at first glance, produced with a repeating composition of a square of subdued colour at the centre of a base of negative space.

Upon closer inspection, one can see the numerous layers integrated into each piece, and the way they produce a translucent look that echoes the apparent endlessness of the layers of atmosphere that one perceives when looking at the sky. Dark blue ink in varying concentrations combined with beeswax make for an invitingly tactile texture, but one that also seems quiet and delicate.

When the dark sky encompassed me, ink, tea, paper, thread, beeswax