Most of the paintings consist of exuberant colors that look like they have been thrown onto the canvas. A few quick flicks with a paintbrush, and "ta da!" – a Martin Kline masterpiece.,”

After a quick glance at a few of the Martin Kline paintings at the Haggerty Museum of Art, one might think Kline is a 10-year-old boy.

Most of the paintings consist of exuberant colors that look like they have been thrown onto the canvas. A few quick flicks with a paintbrush, and "ta da!" – a Martin Kline masterpiece. But take a closer look, and you'll see just how unique, and patient – a virtue most 10-year-olds don't have – Kline is.

Kline stands out from other artists because all of his paintings are encaustic. Encaustic paintings are created when hot, pigmented wax is applied to a support surface in layers.

Kline uses a paintbrush to repeatedly apply layers to each painting until the surface builds up, adding heavy texture and a dimensionality to his work.

"Students and faculty were interested and intrigued by the materials and the process," said Lynne Shumow, curator of education at the Haggerty Museum of Art. "Kline's work has a wide appeal. It's abstract and different people see different things. They relate the work to their own experiences."

The "Martin Kline, Nature and Culture" exhibit includes 30 multi-color paintings and 13 bronze cast sculptures. Kline's paintings and sculptures in the exhibit represent a return to philosophical aspects of nature and culture.

The additive, encaustic process that results in layered surfaces has been compared to things found in nature like tree bark, fungus and melting snow, and generally suggest natural growth.

One of Kline's paintings, "Riot," appears to represent a colorful budding flower, opening up its petals.

In addition to the paintings, a selection of Kline's bronze cast sculptures will be on display. Kline begins his sculptures with a branch or log which serves as an armature on which he adds layers of wax. The work is then cast in bronze using the lost wax technique, in which the wax is melted and leaves behind a metal shell. Kline leaves evidence of the casting process – pouring cups, gating systems, vents – that would normally be cut off to show how he creates his art.

Kline's unique and sophisticated paintings and sculptures will be on display until April 10.

"I don't know any other people working like this," Shumow said.

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