Jef Gunn: Heart Song

Jef Gunn, Mountains and Rivers, encaustic on panel, 16 x 32 in, 2025

By now, the world of artmaking is vast and includes cross-eyed visions. I started out learning to paint what I saw with my eyes in a more or less impressionist mode. But later, I came up against abstractions that moved me in mysterious ways. Unsentimental. But meaningful. How the hell was that done?

Some personal reflection, some guidance in history and in cultures like those of Asia and the mysteries of Al Andaluz have nudged me along. Then, there’s the strange tensions in music and poetry that hint at meaning. Music is abstract but pulls at the heart. I’m trying to do that with painting.

In the early 80s I came upon the encaustics of Joseph Goldberg. And I figured out how to do encaustic with a little help from the Handbook of Artist Materials and Techniques, by Ralph Meyer. From the initial experiments I’ve managed to expand the possibilities. I’ve added ink on paper techniques from Asia, collaging, and processes that include random approaches. And then it has to simmer until I get a sense of what meanings it’s tugging at within me.