I draw inspiration from rusted antique machinery, old factories, contemporary architecture and the world of natural weathered patinas found everywhere. I look for innovative ways to attach and combine a wide range of materials in my sculptures and paintings. I’ll use my 7-foot tall kiln to heat ¼” thick aluminum sheet and slump it over three-dimensional forms and then submerge it in an acid bath to create areas of deep texture. The patinas and encaustic waxes I use add depth and color to the metal surface.

Some of my encaustic wax paintings are done on copper sheet and plaster panels instead of the usual substrate of canvas or wood. This enables me to combine my metal patinas along with colorful epoxy resins on the copper sheet and embed a variety of objects. The plaster panels provide a surface for unusual texture techniques as well as embedding objects.

Growing up around factories in Milwaukee deeply influenced my fascination for industrial architecture and large machinery. The sights and sounds of the railroad yards, Great Lakes shipping docks, drawbridges, and the smells of the bakeries and breweries continue to play a part in my work.

After 15 years of running M & M King Designs, I've returned to what propelled me into the arts in the first place: Surface texture; combining different materials; and relationships among line, pattern, color and movement. I view the world as simplified shapes relating to one another.

— F. M. King