Jenny Sages

I'm pretty sure it's obvious to any of you who read this blog regularly why I like Jenny Sages. She is an Australian artist inspired by Aboriginal art. She works in encaustic on canvas, and for her portraits she spreads the wax over the canvas with her hands. Here is a self-portrait she did after the death of her husband, which explores her grief. This work won the 2012 Archibald People's Choice Prize.

There is a YouTube video of Jenny Sages talking about this work here. I love what she says about needing to show her work to "close the loop" in her experience of making art. I've never found a way to articulate that feeling. You can see more of her work here, at the King Street Gallery website.