So how did I get from a piece I was working on a demonstration for my students on encaustic techniques to this final image? I had started this piece by demonstrating an image transfer, then how to work with layering color and getting it molten to move around the surface. After I had a colorful mess, I covered the surface with white paint, and began scraping back to reveal the original image transfer. This kind of adding/scraping, covering/revealing process is one of my favorite ways of working with encaustic and building up depth and texture.
When I came back to this panel weeks after the class, something about the colors and the hint of floral and the "peeling" texture of the surface reminded of a moment in my 20's when I freaked out all of my housemates by peeling off the wallpaper in the dining room of our rental house! I HATED that wallpaper, and just decided to get rid of it one day. Then, I rehung all the art in the dining room and it took my roommates several days to realize what was different. (note to renters: this is universally a BAD idea). We got really lucky, and the landlords didn't charge us, and I'm still friends with those roommates to this day.
Adding the mix tape and the nostalgic music (I will proudly admit that the music streaming from that tape is from a song by Journey) and hints of warm pink just captured the feeling of that day and those friendships. And the guy who sent me mix tapes in my 20's? Well, in my 40's, I married him. And we played Journey at the wedding.