Light, Surface, and Time
Artist Dale O. Roberts creates luminous encaustic paintings that turn the overlooked into meditations on light, memory, and change.
Dale O. Roberts grew up in upstate New York, where he spent much of his childhood outdoors. He fished, built forts, and studied the textures around him with a sketchbook in hand. By age five he was already drawing; at seven, he began to paint. Encouraged by mentors and driven by determination, he pursued art at the Rochester Institute of Technology before earning his BFA in Painting from Tyler School of Art.
Encaustic as Language
Dale discovered encaustic while exploring ancient media in art school. The mix of pigment and wax offered both permanence and luminosity. His paintings often begin with broad washes of color that he later melts, scrapes, and rebuilds. Surfaces evolve slowly, balancing control with chance.
“The permanence and craftsmanship of encaustic make it a language that endures.”
He teaches widely, guiding artists through the possibilities of encaustic in workshops across the U.S. and Canada. His instruction emphasizes clarity, revealing the medium as both demanding and full of potential.
Between Ephemeral and Enduring
Dale is drawn to the way time leaves its mark. Rusted bridges, weathered stone, or an ordinary November landscape often serve as starting points. Light transforms these subjects, turning decay into radiance.
Dale often returns to the same location many times, sketching on-site and absorbing changes in atmosphere. Encounters with strangers—curious passersby, police officers, or fellow travelers—become part of the memory carried into the work.
“Light transforms what’s out in front of us.”
A Practice of Resilience
Dale paints nearly every day, balancing studio work with family life. He also runs regularly, finding parallels between the rhythm of movement outdoors and the persistence required in painting. Both demand stamina and a willingness to work through discomfort.
“Painting stays alive for me because it always asks why, not just how.”
His work has been shown in galleries across the U.S. and internationally, including Philadelphia and Barcelona. Each exhibition extends the conversation he begins in the studio, inviting viewers to see how surface, light, and time leave their traces.
Looking Beyond the Photograph
Though he sometimes uses photographs for reference, Dale trusts direct observation most. He makes drawings outdoors, listens to the sound of wind through leaves, and notes the quality of “pearly” light in a notebook. These impressions outlast the flatness of a snapshot.
“Artists are noticers—we store what we see and bring it back to the work.”
His paintings are testaments to this layered experience, each one a record of change and endurance.
Explore More
Dale O. Roberts creates encaustic paintings that honor light and the traces of time on landscape and structure.
See Dale O. Roberts’s work at the Portland Art Gallery in Portland’s historic Old Port or explore his collection online.
Watch the Full Interview
To hear Dale O. Roberts reflect on encaustic painting and the role of time in art, watch his full conversation on Radio Maine with Dr. Lisa Belisle.