Sacred Layers: The Encaustic and Cold Wax Art of Helen Lewis

In her latest exhibition, Helen Lewis presents a contemplative series of encaustic and cold wax paintings that balance material depth with meditative stillness. Works such as Drawn In Deeper, Ancient Language, and On the Edge of Something New showcase her process of building and excavating countless layers of pigmented beeswax and oil—carving, scraping, and revealing textures that echo memory, place, and emotion.

Lewis often incorporates vintage materials, from British script dated 1816 in Eloquence to ephemera embedded in Letting That Story Go, creating richly tactile surfaces that invite close discovery and reward repeated viewing.

The exhibition spans luminous diptychs like Sacred Pause and intimate compositions such as Savoring Stillness and A Quiet Way, unified by Lewis’s minimalist palette and organic forms. Deeply influenced by the Maine coast, natural decay, and quiet contemplation, her paintings embody what she calls “peace and stillness”—a resonance carried into collectors’ spaces. Recognized in Maine Home + Design and The Art of Expressive Collage, Lewis’s work continues to affirm her as one of today’s notable voices in contemporary encaustic and cold wax painting.