Bridgette Meinhold has several engineering degrees, but admits one thing she never heard in engineering school was the word “abstraction.”
And yet, the engineer-turned-artist is using science to take her interpretations of nature and turn them into gorgeous works of conceptual landscape art. The abstraction part comes into the picture with her encaustic process, which involves very simple materials, including paint pigment, beeswax and heat. “I create processes that create abstraction, whether it’s with the swirling of the pigment or how the torch reacts with the wax, I’m creating systems that allow abstraction to happen,” she says. “I don’t really see myself as a representational painter because photorealism has never been my goal. I’m looking for abstraction within nature.”
Just Because, encaustic on panel, 47 x 20"
Meinhold, who lives in Park City, Utah, doesn’t have to go far to partake in nature. She and her husband, who is a ski instructor and fire captain in Park City, live in a small A-frame cabin next to a fully furnished shipping container they share—for her art studio and for his woodworking shop. Both have an interest in sustainable living, green design and renewable building, and they also live off the grid, so much so they have to use snowmobiles to get to and from their home in the harsh winter months. 
Jupiter Rising, encaustic on panel, 40 x 25"
But it’s those winter months that inspire the artist with her work, which shows the misty Utah mountains around her home and studio. Meinhold will be presenting her newest pieces at the show The Moments in Between, opening November 26 at Gallery MAR in Park City. Her newest pieces have an atmospheric quality to them that is heightened by the encaustic process that naturally gives a slight three dimensionality to the works. After applying layers of wax, and generous amounts of heat and smoothing, Meinhold can apply paint pigment and then more layers of wax. As the artwork develops, the layers get thicker and thicker, up to a quarter of an inch in some cases. The wax has the effect of making early layers appear hazy and distant, and top layers appear clearer and more vibrant. “It’s almost verging on the craft side of art, that’s how many processes are involved with the medium,” she adds, “but I enjoy all of the steps.”
Evening Promise, encaustic on panel, 40 x 60"
Among the Trees, encaustic on panel, 38 x 60"
“What an honor to have launched this talent’s career, right here in her hometown! Her works now grace walls all over the world, but the inspiration starts here in Park City,” notes gallery owner Maren Mullin. “Meinhold’s unique on-mountain lifestyle brings her closer to the purity of her artistic inspiration: the mountains, the clouds, the weather. It is not for the faint of heart, and living beyond the reaches of the county snowplow offers unique challenges and danger. But for those who seek isolation and the cold, [the] crisp beauty of wilderness is their own Valhalla of winter splendor. And what a rad place to re-create.” —
Gallery MAR
436 Main Street • Park City, UT 84060
(435) 649-3001 • www.gallerymar.com
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