Paula Leach | Encaustic | Mixed Media

Summing up a wonderful day @cirenmarkets A huge thank you to all who purchased & visited my stall. I was overwhelmed by all the heartfelt comments about my work, and how beautiful my stall looked - thank you so much 🤗. It means the world to me that people love my creative processes & want to connect & take a little treasure home with them. Thank you so much to the wonderful people of #cirencester Also, a special thank you & hug to all the hard working team of @cirentc 🤗🥰 It is always a special part of my year to be invited back. Just a warm & loving vibe from the whole community. We had a special visit too from Maya & Luke, who travelled from London - spot the huge camera 🎥 in his hand - but ‘Mums the word’ for now! 😁🤣 I hope you enjoy just a few pics that I had a little play with MetaAI - such a laugh! 😁 Well, I hope to have a well deserved rest for a few days now! 🤣 Once again - thank you to you all for making me a part of your community 🥰 @dillysdesigns @mama_makes_it_crafty @kelliegilbride @cirencester #encaustic #cyanotype #christmasincirencester #cirencester #cotswolds #christmasmarkets #ciren

Colour! From this beautiful sunny day 🥰 #cyanotype #cyanotypeprint #altphotography #photogram @alternativephotography_com @alternativeprocesses #forestofdean #colorpalette #faropenartists #sunprints #printmaking #botanicalillustration #botanicalprint #naturegram

The perfect sketchbook! 🥰 This beautiful antique bottle is my go to canvas to practice my techniques! Who needs pen & paper! 😁 Have you ever taken shortcuts when sketching ideas? I’ve even incorporated some of my old teabag art! #forestofdean #encaustic #vintagestyle #antiquebottles #encaustictechnique #canvasartwork #sketchbookideas #teabagart

Little forests, half-remembered, hold the quiet we once were……. My inspiration from the forest is rooted in quiet observation. On my daily walks I pay attention to the small, easily overlooked corners of the forest floor. The tiny saplings, grasses, and mossy textures that suggest fascination with beginnings: fragile growth, solitude and resilience. Each mini painting, is created using the same colour palette, allowing me to highlight temperature and mood, yet, they are all slightly different in their own right, almost like a visual journal. Their tiny scale makes them intimate, yet wild with texture. Just how I want them to be …….. ☺️🥰 They will now need time to rest & cure and will be available to purchase at our next open studios from July 4th - 12th. Details of all artists and studios can be found @faropen.artists webpage through their profile. There are 55 studios to visit with 127 artists participating. An art trail not to be missed and hopefully we may see you. I will be at Studio 18 with fellow artists @saraulyatt @dawsonpottery & @nicoleiredale Happy days my lovely friends 🥰 - Love P xx #encaustic #forestofdean #treescapes #encausticart #oilpaints

Ink keeps the quiet, of a plants last breath. My canvas grew from rest, not haste. No petal, nor plant hurried, no line misplaced. Just a moment of calm on paper 🥰 I’m not sure whether to continue with black & white, or add colour and wax …. 🤔 What would you like to see? Pxx 🥰 #canvasartwork #etchingink #botanicalprints #calmonpaper #openstudiosarecoming

No paint, no brush, just light, plants, beautiful company and time…. A wonderful day teaching cyanotypes, full of fun, laughter, serious tuition! 😄 and, of course 🎂! 🤣 All ending in some fantastic results, where we sat and evaluated their masterpieces. It was a great pleasure ladies & gent xx A fantastic day, but only made with you all being there 🥰❤️🥰xx I was overwhelmed with the warmth, hugs and gratitude at this workshop - thank you all 🥰🤗🥰xx Happy printing with your new cyanotype craft kits. Don’t forget everyone, I have a ‘FREE’ cyanotype printing guide through my bio links. This will help you all get started no matter which part of the world you live in! 😀 Take Care - Pxx #cyanotype @alternativephotography_com #altprocess #sunprint #botanicalprinting #cianotipia

We often look, but do not ‘see’ We often touch, but do not ‘feel’ My little bud vase ‘Forest Flame’ depicts and highlights the ‘flame’ I observe, by ‘seeing’ through the forest landscape and ‘feeling’ the movement of its presence. The ‘embers’ of the forest. A special mention to Mitch, who won the experienced encaustic artist and the public vote - so well deserved Mich - with work titled ‘Bipolar Inside’. She used medication drugs as part of her pigment colour and her title & subject matter is a difficult one but very inspiring 🥰 I luv it xx I am feeling truly grateful as well, at being selected in this exhibition as an emerging encaustic artist, by @ginabq - the President of the International Encaustic Artists. Words cannot express how I feel tbh, to be selected by an amazing artist, I have admired since using this medium, and, reflecting on how far I am travelling!….. We all have those periods don’t we of self doubt, which come up quite often! 🤔 I am also very grateful for my amazing prize and so looking forward to Julie’s course. Can’t wait to start 🙏🏻 I would also like to say though, that everyone was a winner in this community ‘hive’. I was so in awe, of everyone’s work, expressing their, ‘art of place’. A special mention also to @andreamosey_art & @barbara_rontree_ for their honourable mentions by Gina too. Really beautiful work, as with everyone’s art that I shared this exhibition with 🥰🤗xx Thanks to everyone’s messages too btw of congrats & especially to my neighbouring encaustic friend Alison @theseashedstudio who’s entry was also awesome 🥰😀🥰x Catch up & coffee soon xx And more special mentions to Lyn & Julie for making this all happen. Without you guys this discipline would not have been recognised within the UK, we wouldn’t have had an opportunity to network, exhibit, nor share techniques and wine ‘🍷’ on our zoom calls!! 🤣🤣 just joking 🙃❤️🙃xx 🙏🏻🙏🏻- luv yas xx Don’t forget you can still see all the wonderful entries on the EncausticHiveUK profile link. So worth a look 🥰 xx Take care - Pxx #encaustic encau

Where Ink Meets Brush….. A poem through art… The sonnet sleeps in burgundy, the canvas waits in blue. Between them lies a brushstroke teaching silence how to speak…. The books say “literature is sacred.” The painter’s tape says “make a mess and peel it off later.” Putting them together gives you permission to be reverent and reckless at once. Words would have to explain that paradox. The image just lives it. So what it says that words can’t? The weight of the inkpot. The exact second before you decide. The way four hundred year old plays can sit quietly under wet paint and not mind at all. Giving myself permission! It is true, since experiencing loss my work has taken a lean towards speaking a language of poetry through my art - and, I am worthy of it! Xx Wherever you find your soul, you should seek it … Xx Have a wonderful weekend my friends 🥰Pxx #encaustic #forestofdean #mixedmediacollage #poetry encaustichiveuk

🌟 Welcome to the IEA 🌟⁠ @infusionsart ⁠ Paula Leach | Encaustic | Mixed Media⁠ ⁠ We are absolutely delighted to welcome Paula to the IEA community ✨⁠ Her artistic journey is as inspiring as her work. In 2018, during a challenging time with hyperthyroidism, Paula began searching for calm and healing. What started as a simple shift—trading drinks for herbal tea—sparked an unexpected moment of magic. One tea bag, left overnight, created beautiful organic stains… and a new creative path was born.⁠ ⁠ From that moment, Paula picked up her paints—and never looked back. ⁠ With over 28 years of creative exploration across floristry, patchwork, quilting, and garden design, Paula continues to evolve her practice. In 2025, she deepened her passion for encaustic art during a retreat in Portland, embracing the richness of wax as a medium.⁠ Her artwork, which is part of the “Art of Place” exhibition, is a stunning celebration of life in the Forest of Dean—capturing the essence of the four seasons on an antique bottle. From garden blooms to forest edges, her work reflects a deep connection to nature, memory, and place. ⁠ Paula’s poetic approach brings her art to life:⁠ Once upon a bottle, the year decided to take a nap…⁠ ⁠ Working with wax and flame, Paula creates pieces that feel alive—layered, luminous, and full of transformation 🔥⁠ ⁠ We’re honored to have her as part of the IEA and can’t wait to see her incredible talent continue to shine. 🌟⁠ Welcome, Paula! 💛⁠ ⁠ #encaustic #encausticart #encausticpainting #encausticartist⁠ #abstractart #abstractpainting #contemporaryart #modernart⁠ #originalart #waxonpanel #mixedmediaart #artcommunity

Depicting my ‘Art of Place’ 🥰 My entries - ‘Four Seasons’ & ‘Forest Flame’ This very first ever UK Encaustic Wax Exhibition is now live and ends on 11th April. This new group of 33 artists has been formed by two lovely tutors @lynkirklandart and @julieannsgallery Our remit was to create a piece of work that expresses our current surroundings, and, as I am privy to the seasonal changes in the Forest of Dean I found a beautiful antique bottle and decided to capture the emotions and colours I feel from those seasons. And ‘Forest Flame’, which captures the colours from the embers, as I ‘see’ & ’feel’ the forest. This mini bud vase in the exhibition is available to purchase at £45 including postage within the UK. Glass, coloured wax, mark making, oil paints and a lot of ‘fire’! Here is a poem based on my entries: From garden bloom to forest line, I watched the seasons turn through time. In shifting air, in drifting hue, each change revealed something true. So l held their voice within my hand, and painted what I understand. My heart, the forest, intertwined, now lives in glass, forever signed. ———— 🙏🏻🥰🙏🏻 ————— If you can, please take a look at the exhibition, there is some beautiful work from many artists, experienced and new to this impressive medium, like me. There are also some available to buy and you get to vote for your favourite piece, which will provide the winner with a lovely prize. An encaustic stater kit & £50 Jackson’s voucher. Please visit: /art-of-place-exhibition/ or visit @encaustichiveuk EncausticHiveUK - or LINK in my BIO and last page for voting. I won’t be online too much over the next four days so here’s wishing you all a wonderful festive Easter holiday - lots of luv - Pxx 🐝 happy 🥰 #encaustichiveuk #forestofdean #encaustic #waxexhibition #voteforart

It’s about the community 🥰 I had the best day ever stewarding at the 16 Gallery in Cheltenham. A huge thank you to everyone who visited today, for your kindness in words and support towards the work of many artists exhibiting. An exhibition by FarOpen artists, from in and around the Forest of Dean. Follow @faropen.artists and visit the website for the Open Studios Event - 4th - 12th July. Thank you all again, bringing warmth and smiles to my day. A little poem from the collage: Smiles gather like light in a room of art, Soft laughter weaving heart to heart. In fleeting moments, warm and true, Joy lives quietly in me and you. Have a wonderful weekend - P 😍xx #visitcheltenham #cheltenham #artexhibitioncheltenham #faropenartists #artistssupportingartist

Online event opens! 🥳 Countdown! The first ever UK Encaustic group to be formed with 33 artists based all around the UK. Twenty artists are participating in the exhibition, showing 36 artworks with various being up for sale 🥳 There are great prizes to be won too, including a people’s choice award. Ohh!! 😮 exciting 🥳😀 The link for the launch tomorrow is: /art-of-place-exhibition/ Or check out EncausticHiveUK profile. The Encaustic Hive UK group is sponsored by @rfpaints @iea_encaustic @jacksons_art @enkaustikos and more. I never dreamt that going on an art retreat would result in such a wonderful, heartfelt community like this being formed. Yes I was very nervous, learning techniques with experienced artists has got to be nerve racking right!😱 You think you’re going to end up saying the wrong things, or read other people incorrectly, or just slip up by masking your nerves with more wine! 🍷 🤣 But no, the whole week ended up with warm friendships being formed and a sense of belonging. My thanks to Lyn & @ursi_lysser for just being you 🥰 The retreat allowed me to broaden my experience and feel more confident in what I do and thanks now to Lyn and JulieAnn, also an experienced artist and teacher that attended, this wonderful group called, Encaustic Hive UK has been formed. Lyn, Julie and others have been working hard behind the scenes to allow this event to happen, and we are all so very grateful 🙏🏻 🥰🐝 I can’t wait to see all the wonderful creations that are being submitted. 🐝 happy my lovely friends and have a great weekend - Luv Pxx #encaustichiveuk #encaustic @studio_mpy @gillieb60 @theseashedstudio @barbara_rontree_ @kerrylynneartist @angelicastudio.art @artbyanneb @melanie.williams1 @theatticartstudio @lynkirklandart @encaustichiveuk @julieannsgallery @ukencausticartists