About Cathy
BRIEF ARTIST BIO
Cathy Leaycraft was born in New York City and raised mostly in the Philadelphia area.
Her mother frequently took her to… more
Reflected Landscape
I strive for a dreamlike quality, and a sense of timelessness.
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Side YardThis image was taken in the yard of the house my husband and I were renting on Monhegan Island, Maine.
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Trees KneesThis image was taken at Adkins Arboretum in Maryland. I was on the ground in a somewhat swampy area that bordered a pond. The dark brown bulges are tree roots.
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Yellow DawnThis image was taken early in the morning in my backyard. My glass sphere was on a pillow that had been in the seat of an Adirondack chair. The chair is also in the image.
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Copper GlobeThis image was taken on the boat dock in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I was able to get to the area where the boats were tided up because it was December and off season.
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Tears at DawnThis image was taken in my backyaed. The "tears" were created by condensation on the glass.
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Mouth to MouthThis image was taken in the fenced in deck surrounding a friends cottage in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The "mouths" are really one life preserver reflected twice in my sphere.
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VortexThis image was taken on the dunes along the Ceader Woods Trail in Provincetown, Massachusetts. I particularly like the way the stick figure appears to be drawn by some spiritual force toward the womb like vortex.
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Lobster's ViewThis image was taken at the water's edge amoung the rocks on the shoreline at Fish Beach on Mongegan Island, Maine. The ball was in a puddle of water amoung the rocks. I am visable along the rocks on the right.
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Eye LashThis image was taken at Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore. The "lashes" across the "eye" shape were created by the pattern in a cut glass bowl placed under my glass sphere.
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Enter the WreckThis image was taken inside a boat wreck at Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island. I crawled inside with my camera and sphere.
Nature Portraits
My blown glass sphere has a one inch opening, so any object I photograph must fit through the opening and come back out. The coming back out part can be a challenge.
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Red LeafThis image was taken at the bottom of a wooden fire escape behind the apartment where my husband and I were staying on Monhegan Island. I found the leaf on the ground nearby.
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Turkey TailThis image wae taken at Adkins Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland. It features a line of Turkey Tail mushrooms growing on a dead branch.
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Stone TrioThis image was taken during one of our visits to Provincetown. These stones were collected by my husband while we were walking along the beach. I barrowed them briefly for this photo shoot.
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Purple VetchThis vine is prolific on Monhegan Island. It was unfamillar to me, so, I looked it up in a wildflower book when I got home.
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FeatherThis was my first feather image. I found this slightly weathered feather in my yard near the bird feeder.
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Finally SpringDuring an early spring visit to the Rehoboth Art League in Delaware, I walked around the neighborhood capturing sighns of spring.
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Hosta BudSome plants on Monhegan Island have developed distinctive characteristics due to the 10 mile distance from the main land. This hosta bud was unusually large.
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Andrea's FeatherThis image was taken in my friend Andrea's yard. She offered me a couple of feathers from her collection. The edge of her balcony-deck is visable in the lower left corner.
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Red ThistleWe recently moved and a friend brought us a bouquet of flowers. This thistle was in the arrangement.
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Monhegan GoldOn Monhegan there is a ritual. As a tourist boat pulls out of the Harbor, brave soals throw flowers and jump into the water. This island Goldenrod is often amoung the flowers picked for this occation.
Encaustic and Photography
About five years ago I began experimenting with the hot wax medium Encaustic. Encaustic gives my photographs the texture and depth I have long admired in paintings. In addition, I can manipulate the surface with traditional and non-traditional objects, like brushes, hammers, dental tools etc. I can also scrape out areas revealing more of the photograph underneath.
The process:
A mixture of beeswax and damar resin is heated to about 200 degrees and applied to a surface. In my case, the surface is one of my photographs printed on watercolor paper and mounted on board. After each layer of wax cools, it is “fixed” by reheating the wax with a heat gun. Additional layers are added in a similar fashion. I use three or four layers before making textural patterns in the wax surface, carving out elements, or adding pastel pigments.
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First Light
12" x 12" Encaustic, Photograph, and Pastel mounted on board.
Available for Purchase12" x 12" Encaustic, Photograph, and Pastel mounted on board. $300.00.
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Sky Light # 3
14" x 11" Encaustic, Photograph, and Pastel mounted on board.
Available for Purchase14" x 11" Encaustic, Photograph and Pastel mounted on board, $325.00.
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Planetary Lines: Earth # 18
11" x 14" Encaustic, Photograph, and Pastel mounted on board.
Available for Purchase11" x 14" Encaustic, Photograph, and Pastel mounted on board. $325.00
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Planetary Lines-Earth # 15
12" x 16" Encaustic, Photograph and Pastel mounted on board.
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Earth Angles #6-72-3000.jpg
Encaustic on mounted Photograph. View of clouds, water, and rock jetty.
Available for Purchase11" x 14" Encaustic, Photograph, and pastel mounted on board. $325.00
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View from Rt 6
12" x 12" Encaustic and Photograph mounted on board.
Available for Purchase12" x 12" Encaustic and Photograph mounted on board. $300.00
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Cape Light
12" x 12" Encaustic, and Photograph mounted on board. $300.00
Available for Purchase12" x 12' Encaustic and Photograph mounted on board. $300.00
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Planetary Lines-Earth #4
12" x 12" Encaustic, Photograph, and Pastel, mounted on board.
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Planetary Lines-Earth # 5
12" x 12" Encaustic, and Photograph mounted on board. $300.00
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Shore Line # 2
12" x 12" Encaustic and Photograph mounted on board.
Available for Purchase12" x 12" Encaustic and Photograph mounted on board. $300.00