About Elise Wagner
Elise Wagner, a painter, printmaker, educator, and innovator. In 2022, Elise embraced Astoria on the North Coast of Oregon as her new home, having originally hailed from Jersey City, New Jersey. Since 1986, she has called Oregon her home, where her creative journey has evolved into a distinctive fusion of artistic expression, spiritual exploration, and a profound interest in various scientific disciplines. Elise's work seamlessly integrates her fascination with physics, astronomy, geology, cartography, and meteorology, exploring their connections to evolving technologies and the environment.
Encaustic Painting with Elise Wagner
Elise has been working with the encaustic medium for thirty years. Encaustic, meaning “to burn in”, is the oldest known pigment binder that combines natural beeswax, pigment and dammar resin. What initially attracted her to the medium was that its combined properties lend themselves to creating depth, adhesion with collage materials, quick drying time and, brush cleaning is optional!
In her words, “what I truly love about encaustic painting is that there are not limits, it is relentlessly inviting me to discover more about it and thereby deepening my work and studio practice. Encaustic is a forgiving medium, both fragile and durable at the same time and lends itself well to the concepts of my work.”
Whether you are a seasoned artist or beginner, Elise’s individualized approach to teaching will put you at ease to have a thoroughly wonderful learning experience with the ancient and beautiful medium of encaustic painting.
Notable for her artistic contributions, Elise has garnered recognition, including the prestigious 2015-16 Pollock Krasner Foundation Award, several regional awards, and grants from esteemed institutions such as the Ford Family Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Her art is represented by galleries in Washington D.C., Astoria, Oregon, Palm Springs, and Seattle.
Elise's artistic footprint extends into corporate and private collections throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. recently, five of her paintings were selected for reproduction in the Beachfront Building of the Surf Sand Resort in Cannon Beach, Oregon and published in a book. This past Spring began with a solo exhibition at Frederick Holmes & Co., in Seattle immediately followed by five weeks living in London to teach two workshops at Artichoke Print Workshop and an encasutic painting class at the lab of a family run and over a century old color factory Dolci Colori, in Verona, Italy.
On May 12 in the Luxumbourg Garden in Paris, artist Gabe Fernandez proposed to Elise before the Medici Fountain. The two are slated to wed July 11, 2026. Upon returning from Europe, the Maryhilll Museum of Art, situated in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge, featured a Summer survey exhibition of Elise’s work, Celestial Currents June 2 - July 31.
Beyond her artistic endeavors, Elise loves the outdoors in Oregon. She is a runner and meditator; both practices she believes oils the cogs of her creative engine. Over the years, she has become a dedicated art educator who is sought after internationally to teach and present encaustic painting and printmaking at conferences and institutions. Currently, Elise imparts her knowledge through semi-private workshops at Pier 11 Studio.