Elise Wagner is a painter, printmaker, educator and innovator. An east coast transplant from Jersey City, New Jersey, she has based herself in Portland, Oregon since 1986.

The uniquely defining aesthetic in Elise’s work melds her creative and spiritual practices with her fascination with and education in various disciplines of science – physics, astronomy, cosmology, cartography and meteorology and how they relate to changing technologies and the environment. Science and abstract art are defined as mystery, and Elise is continually curious about and negotiating this in her work.

The encaustic medium lends itself well to Elise’s studio practice and creative aspirations resulting in artwork rich with depth that is visually and emotionally captivating as well as intellectually compelling. Working with the encaustic medium since the early 1990’s led Elise to innovate a way to print from the texture of her paintings and merge the techniques of encaustic painting with that of collagraph printmaking.

A 2015-16 Pollock Krasner Award Recipient in addition to numerous regional awards, Elise shows her work at galleries in Washington D.C., Houston, Palm Springs, Astoria, Oregon and Seattle. Her work is included in corporate and private collections throughout the U.S. As an educator, Elise has been invited to teach and present encaustic painting and printmaking Internationally. Elise currently teaches virtual workshops and does private one on one mentoring.