Aubergine

Aubergine - mixed media 8x10

Winter with eggplants

I have been focusing on abstract for a while now and decided that I missed some of my less abstracted work.  The painting above is currently on exhibit at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy for their annual art show. Information about the show may be found here http://www.nsacademy.org.

On the right is the reference photo that I used.  I took this photo in my living room window since the light was so good that day.  My little dog, Winter has to check everything out.  Luckily, eggplant is one of the few vegetables he doesn't like!

Welcome 2013

Welcome 2013.  I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and New Year.  Ours has been full of family activities and so much fun. 

Christmas this year, including dinner on Christmas Day, was one of the most relaxed we have had. Dinner preparations went smoothly, everyone brought dishes to share and all eleven of us were seating in one room. 

We really enjoyed our Christmas tree this year, we went with a fresh cut tree and found a space in a window near our front door.  This is the first time it was placed there and it was my favorite.  We could see it and smell the fresh fir every time we moved through the house  Since our son is an adult now, I decorate and take the tree down by myself.  The men help with the heavy lifting and things my five foot frame makes difficult for me to reach.  Both the decorating and the taking down were enjoyable, it gave me a chance to sift through memories of the various ornaments (many dated) that we have accumulated over our 30 years of marriage.

Now is the season for looking forward and setting goals.  Surely this can be done at any time and not just on New Year's Day, but this is prime time for compiling lists of things that we hope to accomplish in the coming year. I won't go into all the details, but as you can probably guess, art is high on the list. Hopefully, there will be many paintings and shows to post about.

May your New Year be filled with peace, love, joy and good health. Cheers!

Now showing at Artistic Creations Gallery

Last Friday, I delivered 16 pieces of artwork to a gallery that recently opened on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, VA. More information on the gallery may be found on their FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Artistic-Creations/187301665879?ref=ts&fref=ts Below is a quote by Randall Jordan, the owner of the gallery.

Small Study #9

“The Gallery welcomes some new artists to the fold; a mixed water medium/acrylic artist, Laura Gibbs, a very talented (and has taken lessons from loads of brilliant art instructors around the country) abstract /semi-representational artist with a very unique approach to her subject matter allowing the viewer to enrich their emotions thru the various juxtapositions of colors.”

There will be a Holiday Open House on Thursday, December 13^th from 5:30 until 8:30. Join us there for an artist's demonstration, refreshments and music.

A large number of the works are my experimental Small Studies.  The painting shown above is one of these.  All are priced in a range that makes them great gifts.  The painting in this post is 6 inches by 12 inches on canvas and is $60.00.

Lime Paradigm

Lime Paradigm

Lime Paradigm is a recent painting, it is 11x14 on a gallery wrapped canvas and is ready to hang without a frame. I started this painting quite a while ago with a basic composition in mind and just couldn't find  the inspiration to finish. It was started in the way I start a lot of my work, with mostly ink and liquid acrylic paint - very messy and soupy. While the initial layers are still wet, various items that make texture are placed in the ink and left to dry. After all these textural bits are removed,  the hard part begins - now what? There will be many layers in the finished painting.

I took another look at it the week before the Stockley Gardens art show mentioned in my last post. When I thought about using the lime green, things started to come together. I gathered up my paint and some more textural tools and voila, it was finished. Except for a name! Pattern is always an element in my work, so the word paradigm worked http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paradigm?s=t. Lime Paradigm was named, signed, photographed and displayed at the art show.

Stockley Gardens Fall Arts Festival

I will be participating in the Stockley Gardens Fall Arts Festival this weekend in Norfolk, VA.  Show hours are listed below:

Saturday, October 20, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 21, 2012, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The show is located in the Ghent area of Norfolk.  Click here http://www.hope-house.org/arts/fall-stockley-gardens-arts-festival/dates-facts.php   
for more information. I will be in space B4, please stop by and visit.

Cosmic Dream

 

Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Festival

October 13-14, 2012
Sat, 10am-6pm - Sun, 10am-5pm

Come by and see me this weekend at the Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Festival in Newport News, VA.  I will be in space A5.

The show is located in "Port Warwick’s Styron Square and will have world-class art, gourmet food, and fine wines. Now in its eighth year, the Port Warwick Art & Sculpture Festival will showcase the works of more than 80 artists.
Bring the whole family – there will be live music and exciting activities for kids too, including the ever-popular Young Collectors Tent!"

Sunset Continuum mixed water media 12x36

Where:
Port Warwick’s Styron Square
3100 William Styron Square
in the heart of the Oyster Point area of
Newport News, VA

More information here http://www.pwartfest.org/

An Occasion for the Arts Oct.6 & 7, 2012

This weekend, I will be participating in An Occasion for the Arts 44th annual art show in Williamsburg, VA. The show is open both Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. I will be in space number C38, which is near the corner of North Boundary Street and Prince George Street.  You can get more information and maps by clicking on this link http://www.aofta.org/about-us/.  

Amber Twilight

The painting shown above, Amber Twilight, is mixed water media on canvas. This is the painting that caught the eye of the juror at the Seawall Art Show in August.

Stop in and say hello this weekend.  There will be a lot of activities in addition to the art.

Have a great weekend,
Laura