Challenge from a friend

I am fortunate enough that I have a wonderful circle of artist friends and we get together as often as possible to catch up but also to immerse ourselves in art. This usually involves painting together which leads to suggestions, etc. from one another.  

On one such occasion, I brought a heavily textured canvas to paint.  Everyone loved to lacy look of the texture.  One of my friends suggested (challenged) me to do a series of monochromatic paintings on this type of texture.  This really was a challenge for me since my love of color often overrides my intentions when it comes to this type of work. The last time I started out with the idea of a study in white, it became blue and copper instead.

This time I was determined to follow through and went home and textured two more 12x12 canvases to achieve the same lace like texture as the first.  The "experiment" resulted in a triptych titled Fretwork I, II and III.  Each painting is 12x12, slightly darker in value and framed in a simple natural wood frame.

Fretwork I

 

Fretwork II

Fretwork III

Paintings by Laura Gibbs and Don Williams
On exhibit 

September 2 through October 31, 2015

How do you relate to an artwork when there is no object to give you a clue?

When an artist uses only color, pattern and texture to convey ideas and emotions, how do you discern the artist’s message?

Opening reception with the artists

September 18th in the Arts Center @ 319 from 6 to 8 pm.

http://www.smithfieldarts.org/