My response to the Karl Sternath December exhibition at the Bermuda Society of Arts was one of ambivalence.I found his painting both attractive and repelling.His abstract imagery, in that particular exhibition, was engaging but his use of epoxy, along with other paint media was, for me, problematic. Epoxy comes in many forms. Many will know it as an adhesive. It also comes as a varnish and some may have seen wood tables coated with a high gloss epoxy finish.It can also be used as an art medium and always, it seems, the finish is super glossy. The glossiness of epoxy can be an aesthetic problem.Although I frequently find the glossiness of epoxy finishes glitzy, I have learned that it is dangerous to completely dismiss any material or technique out of hand. It may often be aesthetically problematic but, from my experience, someone will come along and find ways of using it that is visually engaging and aesthetically appropriate.Mr Sternath is having another exhibition that opens at Common Ground Cafe on Thursday.Since I will not be able to see it until near the end of the show I recently arranged to meet the artist in his studio. I wanted to see what he is going to be showing in his next exhibition.In the several months that have passed since his last show, Mr Sternath has been busy creating new work; thus I can report that he has taken this epoxy technique in a new direction that is impressive. Additionally, his new approach to painting is such that I think he has largely overcome the problem that I found with the high gloss finish. The interesting thing about it however, is that his new work is just as glossy as before.What he has done is use a layering technique that seems to counter our perception of the glossiness.Epoxy resin as a material dates from about 1927, but as to its use as an art medium, that came considerably later. I have not been able to establish just when epoxy was first used in art, however, I do recall seeing it used in paintings as far back as the early 1970s. I am likewise uncertain about who first used it here in Bermuda, but Mr Sternath may be the first. It is a versatile material that has huge creative potential and I look forward to where Mr Sternath might possibly take it.One of the notable characteristics of this material, especially in the way that Mr Sternath uses it, is that it seems to display considerable depth. This is an illusion, much in the manner of the traditional old master glaze technique of oil painting, which also exhibited this quality. In either case the paint layers are very thin. Nevertheless, when viewing these paintings it often seems like looking into the depths of a tide pool and perceiving the varying depths of water.One recent influence on Mr Sternath’s art is the New York abstract expressionist Mark Rothko. Rothko painted huge rectangular scumbles of vapourious colour that he layered one above the other. Although he typically used oil paint, he did not make use of the just mentioned glaze technique. Nevertheless, he too gave his work a sense of depth. In Mr Sternath’s case, his use of rectangular layers of colour is where his work most resembles that of Rothko’s paintings.Mr Sternath’s exhibition at Common Ground begins Thursday and runs through March 15.