What I did with my summer vacation

I know summer isn't really over,  however, I participate in an art show (Seawall Art Show) that is always the weekend before Labor Day. Since the Labor Day weekend is generally the unofficial end of summer, I consider the art show to be mine.

This summer was very busy at times.  I took a trip to Alaska with my sister.  We took a cruise that left from Seattle, so we were able to see a few things there as well.  Alaska was wonderful, it is one of my all time favorite vacations.

I also painted quite a bit, seven new paintings.  I will have all of them at the Seawall Art Show in Portsmouth, VA on August 23rd and 24th.  More information on this will be posted in a couple of days.

Seeking Pythagoras 9x12 water media on Yupo 

Most of my work this summer is in water color, gouache, and water color crayons.  The painting shown above, Seeking Pythagoras, used these three media on a surface of Yupo synthetic paper.  It is 16x20 framed under glass.

Stockley Gardens Arts Festival

Looking Down - watercolor on Yupo

This weekend is the  30th Annual Spring Stockley Gardens Arts Festival.  I will be in space C-9.   We will be open Saturday May 17th from 10 am until 5 pm and on Sunday from noon until 5 pm.  The show is in Stockley Gardens Park in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood. More information may be found here 

The painting shown above is new this spring.  It is 11x14 on Yupo synthetic paper and I used watercolor, gouache and watercolor crayons.  Please come out and stop by this weekend.

Arts in the Park Richmond, VA

Juncture

Come out and see my art this weekend at the 43rd Annual Arts in the Park in Richmond, VA.  The show is held at the Carrilon in Byrd Park.  We are open from 11 am until 6 pm on Saturday, May 3rd and 11 am until 5 pm on Sunday, May 4th. I am honored to be one of over 400 artists from around the country to be participating in this art show. More information may be found here Arts in the Park information

The painting shown above is one of many new pieces that will be on display.  Juncture is watercolor, gouache and watercolor crayon on Yupo.

Finding Your Edge

“If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space.”― Stephen Hunt

Some of you may know that I practice yoga regularly.  In yoga, we often speak about finding our edge.  We mean to find “that place where you are challenged, but successful”.  In making art, I find it necessary to find my edge.  It is essential to my creative process to experiment and  push myself out of my comfort zone.  Sometimes this is in little ways.  For example using a color that I don't often work with or trying a texture tool that I haven't used before.  Experimentation may involve something bigger such as working on a large surface, a slick surface or trying a design I have never used before.

Radishes -  mixed media on panel 6x6

In my painting, Radishes I am painting on a surface that I have not used before.  This is a wood panel that is cradled, meaning that it does not need to be framed and is ready to hang as is.  I often paint with watercolor on a surface that has been coated in acrylic gesso.  A friend saw one of my paintings and showed me this new surface that she was using for her oil paintings.  I had been looking for a very smooth surface to use with my abstracts.  I really loved painting these radishes and will be painting at least 3 more of these 6x6 cradled panels.  I know that in my last post I indicated that I would post some photos of this painting in process, but I just get so into the painting that I forget to stop and take pictures. They are gessoed and ready for a subject.  This painting is $75.00; contact me at lauragibbs@lauragibbs-studio.com to purchase.

Have a great day!

Robin's Nest

Robin's Nest 8x8 mixed media on board

Robin's Nest is a recently completed mixed media painting that I was fortunate enough to sell almost immediately. I am enjoying painting in this style again and posted another painting, Aubergine that is in my post of January 30, 2013. It is so much fun that I have started a series of small paintings (6x6) of fruits and vegetables that will be on cradled board so that they are ready to hang without a frame. The first one is of radishes.  I am planning to post a few pictures of the paintings while they are in progress so that you can get a feel for the steps that lead to a finished work.

I have worked in this style before; if you click here you will be directed to the page in my website devoted to them.  Thinking about “style” brings up a bigger question, what is it?  Answering this question is a lot more complicated than it would appear.  After research and discussion with fellow artists, I discovered the following: (taken from my website - click here to see it)

What is Abstract Art?

That is often debated and difficult to nail down.  After researching this topic, I have found a definition that I am comfortable with.  “Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art. This departure from accurate representation can be only slight, or it can be partial, or it can be complete. Abstraction exists along a continuum. Even art that aims for verisimilitude of the highest degree can be said to be abstract, at least theoretically, since perfect representation is likely to be exceedingly elusive. Artwork which takes liberties, altering for instance color and form in ways that are conspicuous, can be said to be partially abstract. Total abstraction bears no trace of any reference to anything recognizable” More information may be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_art

Based on all of this, often confusing information; I decided to go with abstract.  Maybe it should be Realism with a Twist or Realism My Way.  One of these terms may work their way into my vocabulary one day.

Thank you for taking time to read my blog.

Have a great day!

Show news and paintings

Hope everyone has been staying warm this week, just another typical March here in Hampton Roads.

I have now heard from two of the shows that I applied to. I'll be doing the Chesapeake Art Show and Stockley Gardens this spring. More information on these to follow.

Also, I am posting two new paintings. The one on the left is a row of pears in mixed media. The other is a whimsical guitar painting in water media.