Artist R.L. Gibson

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Artist R.L. Gibson

Category: Media

Heart Breaker.

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Heart Breaker, 11"x14" Xerography on Canvas by Artist R.L. Gibson
Heart Breaker, 11″x14″ Xerography on Canvas by Artist R.L. Gibson — a part of the “Do I Know You?” series

A CHANGE
in season

I’ve been busy testing a change in process–the addition of color and paint.  I am closing in on a new direction for the next series of work that I’m calling “Better than Figs” at the moment.

The new series
examines what it means
to really live.

 

The series title, Better than Figs, is from Shakespeare’s Anthony & Cleopatra:“O excellent! I love long life better than figs.”  Before diving headfirst into production, I sat down to edit the “Do I Know You?” exhibit.  It seems that Heart Breaker (pictured left) might be the best way to say goodbye to #DIKY.  Is it okay to mourn the loss of mourning?  No longer mourning puts closure or finality to the loss of my father.  I have guilt about that.  My mourning for the loss of the personality I knew as my grandmother has become acceptance.  I am grateful to at least have my memories of who she was–even if her memories don’t include me anymore.  I finally learned to just “Smile.  Because everyone dies.”

If you didn’t get a chance to visit the #DIKY opening in July,
you can see the series by visiting the Do I Know You? page.

♦ ♦ ♦

 

 

KEEPING TRACK.

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Pass the Bottle by Artist R.L. GibsonWhere is EVERYTHING?

I’ve been giving lots of thought to inventory lately.  I am experimenting with changes in my media; more specifically, I am incorporating paint into what has been a solely xerography output from me for many, many years.  And, as my production increases, I find myself with the challenge of keeping track of all of it.  They are kind of my babies, and I want to know where they are going before I send them out into the world.

There are so many art inventory software systems from which to choose.  A few of them seem to have all the same flaws–they track work for shows but aren’t set up for artists that deal primarily with galleries OR they track shows/fairs and NOT galleries.

So I am curious, are any of you out there dealing with inventory issues?  Do you have room, in-studio, to store all of you work prior to shipping it to galleries?  And, once you ship, how are you tracking the work?  Do you have recommendations?  Have any of you tried eArtist, Art Tracker or GYST?  What about cloud-based Artwork Archive?

I would like to hear your thoughts.
Leave a comment on this post,
my Facebook wall
or email me.

EXPERIMENTS

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COLOR
by NUMBER

I told you about my paper indulgences–art books.  I received a book in the mail that is, well, sort of priceless.  It is kind of a color by numbers without the numbers or paint kits. Abstracts in Acrylics [With Tracings] By Dani Humberstone ( 2011 ).  It comes with tracings of the artist/author’s abstract work along with step by step instructions on how to recreate her work.  This is a perfect example of my magpie ways.  I am attracted to the colorful and shiny and vibrant.  And, I don’t always pay attention to the details.  In this case, I fell in love with the color in the sample pages and had no idea what I was getting.  This will be a FANTASTIC way to to ease myself out of a future art rut.  Fun.  I have a funny feeling about this one.

Find a happy place. Go there.  And, go often.

Be sure to Follow Artist R.L. Gibson on Facebook!

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PAINTING: Abstraction

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Inspiration for Artist R.L. Gibson!the why & the what
OF PAINTING

I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries that all say something a little like: “Why add paint?” to xerography.  Why now? What is that going to look like?

It is an evolution.  I’ve been working in black & white for SO LONG.  I love it.  I do.  I’ve always considered my work sort light-handed Pop Art, often with a dollop of Surrealism from my own photography.  But, when I appropriated family portraiture for the #DIKY series, it all began to unravel.  I have thousands of family photographs.  My family was prolific, but bizarrely enough, a lot of them don’t feel personal.  Honestly, they feel like my family posed as studies for the lifestyle advertising mock ups of the 1930s through the 1970s.  They are real people living glamorous lives without the benefit of money or extraordinary wealth.

They are just people truly LIVING.
They make me happy…
TECHNICOLOR happy.

 

Loads of saturated color will help me share a portrait of what life can be if you are paying attention.  Color will help me express what it feels like TO LIVE.  So in the meantime, I study color theory & the techniques of abstract expressionists.  Today’s happy place–LIVING.

Find your happy place. Go there.  And, go often.

Be sure to Follow Artist R.L. Gibson on Facebook!

⊕ ⊗  ⊕  ⊗  ⊕  ⊗  ⊕

PAPER indulgences…

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BACK
to the books

As I prepare for my upcoming journey of adding color to my work–possibly on a semi-permanent basis, I have become excited by delving into color theory once again.  My eyes know the theory, but my brain has taken all for granted. So, I am allowing myself the ultimate indulgence of someone living a purposefully pared-down existence…art books–yum!

Deciding what NOT to purchase and/or borrow has been the hardest part. I’ll keep you updated on the books I love!  Today’s choice Confident Color: An Artist’s Guide To Harmony, Contrast And Unity by Nita Leland.  Today’s recovered art-i-fact from Confident Color: “Once in a while, you may want to go a little darker in value without overpowering that light feeling. [sic] Burnt Sienna turns any saturated paint color into an earth hue.”  Thanks, Nita! Burnt Sienna–today’s happy place.

Find your happy place. Go there.  And, go often.

Be sure to Follow Artist R.L. Gibson on Facebook!

⊕ ⊗  ⊕  ⊗  ⊕  ⊗  ⊕

SUN bathing…

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Inspiration for Artist R.L. Gibson!INSPIRATION
or rationalization?

As I continue to sort through the imagery of my youth and the days when those I have loved were young, inspiration for “living on vacation” continues.  I am inspired to create vacation memories to share in vivid saturated color, but I am also inspired to get out of the studio & take a trip to the lake.

Is that inspiration?  Or is it rationalization for soaking up a little sun & swigging a glass-bottled cola as though I were posing for an ad?  I must admit, the fashion makes is all the more tempting.  Another happy place…

Find your happy place. Go there.  And, go often.

Be sure to Follow Artist R.L. Gibson on Facebook!

⊕ ⊗  ⊕  ⊗  ⊕  ⊗  ⊕

The Tārā Project

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Pieces of Me Ayra Tara by Artist R.L. Gibson!…om

 

I am not Buddhist but have a love of the idea of the Buddhist princess Tara.  Within Tibetan Buddhism, Tārā is regarded as a Bodhisattva of compassion and action.  Tara has 21 primary emanations, each of which performs different activities such as giving, diligence, the difficult, peace, patience and so forth.

Legend has it that she was urged to try to be reborn as a male, but she rejected that notion opting to pursue complete enlightenment as a woman.  And if you read the Praise of 21 Taras, you’ll understand how she became the inspiration for this little known work Pieces of Me: Ayra Tara (2007).  Aesthetically, this piece was a failure for me.  But, I never re-edited this piece because I came to realize that I didn’t make it to show.   It was and is personal.

A dual reminder that we are equipped to conquer all…
but all in due time.

PIXELS or paper?

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My Fair Lady by Artist R.L. Gibson, 2008decisions
DECISIONS
decisions

As much as I love the physical process of transferring images to canvas, the guts of my work happen as a part of DIGITAL collage.  Since the actual quality of the photograph isn’t my first concern, the photo shoots are all about capturing the content.  So, once again, the REAL STUFF happens in the collage process.  When I tripped across the Call below, I thought maybe I should mix it up occasionally and do a little hands-on collage work.  I wonder if it would alter the way I approach digital collage.  Hmmm…

This piece (above left), dubbed My Fair Lady, is one of a collection of found-object assemblage/collage pieces completed years ago at the request of a retail store in Gatlinburg.  This show (below) is a free entry and an all-hung exhibit.  Sounds like a no-risk opportunity.  Check it out, maybe this one will work for you too…

Learn more about the Collage and Mail Art show!CALL for ENTRIES:
Mail Art/Collage Art

ELIGIBILITY: All artists

MEDIA: Collage & Assemblage Art (newspaper, ribbons, papers, artwork, texts, photographs & other objects on paper/canvas) –per the call.

DEADLINE:  September 10, 2014

ENTRY FEE:  None

AWARDS:  All works will be exhibited online at http://collage–art.blogspot.com & at Tymutopiyapres in Lviv, Ukraine.

Interested? Read the Call at AAAD!