American artist Justin Selway brings his unique style and experiences to encaustics, an ancient medium used by the pharaohs. Using beeswax, damar tree resin, pigments and fire, Justin creates stunning textures and depth to create a beautiful piece of encaustic work. Although encaustic is one of his newest passions he brings to it many years of experiences.
Justin is also known for his watercolor paintings and his award winning design work. As a textile designer he has developed some of the most effective and top grossing camouflage patterns in the hunting industry. He is an avid outdoorsman who grew up in southwest Montana. As a child he enjoyed working on ranches, fishing and hiking in some of the most beautiful places Montana has to offer. The Beaverhead, the Blackfoot and the Clark Fork rivers are among his favorite watersheds to fly fish. After the fall hunting season Justin would be heading to the local ski area and staying at the family cabin in the Grasshopper Valley. This area is full of opportunities for adventure and creative thinking. Justin was drawing and painting every chance he could. He was entering into local art shows and displaying work in local galleries at a young age.
As a young man Justin worked summers as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service where he got to travel and meet many great people. The work was physically demanding, the terrain at times was unforgiving but the setting was always beautiful and inspiring. Justin was able to experience many things in nature that not many people ever get to see like mountain sides covered in burning embers late into the night making the landscape look like a cityscape or the different insects that appear only when a forest fire is near.
Justin moved to Washington to attend The Art Institute of Seattle where he studied Graphic Design and Advertising. This was his first taste of the city life and new adventures in the art world were all around. After Graduating he moved back to Montana to work for an advertising agency in Helena, MT and soon moved on to freelance Graphic Design. He did work with Montana Magazine in Helena, MT and The Montana Standard news paper in Butte, MT and several local businesses in the surrounding areas.
In 2000 Justin presented his first of 5 poster designs for the Bannack State Park to Governor Marc Racicot. These hung in the Montana State Capitol building. Around this time he moved to Missoula to work for The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation where he did designs for Bugle Magazine and designed and built displays and signage for the 2001 Elk Camp Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He later took a job with Cedar Mountain Data Design where he worked on websites for local business including Trout Unlimited and The National Wildlife Federation and more.
In 2003 Justin moved to Columbus, GA to work for Jordan Outdoor Enterprises LTD. (Realtree and Advantage Camouflage Brands) in their marketing department and soon became the Pattern Designer and Special Products Manager. Here he spent over 15 years designing camouflage patterns from concept to completion. Upon Final approval he would develop the first standard fabric prints with textile mills on the east coast and south east. These prints were the benchmark for all print items to match to going forward. Justin designed several other products, packaging and branding items over the years.
With many adventures in his life and career, family, art, design and nature are always present. Today Justin enjoys painting in Encaustics and pushing the boundaries of himself and this medium. He continues to build upon his skills in other mediums and likes to combine them whenever possible. He currently lives with his wife and children in Canton, Mississippi.