Artist R.L. Gibson – Page 11 – Artist R.L. Gibson

GLUTTONY: Rejected Attempt

Posted on October 24, 2010 by R.L. Gibson

LESSONS LEARNED

One of the hardest lessons I ever learned was that it was okay if the work isn’t genius EVERY TIME. The first image of the Psychomachia series that I tackled was Gluttony represented by The World’s Heaviest Woman. I was excited…I worked hard on the set pieces and props. I loved the resulting image for about 2 months…

NOW…it has been cut and replaced by a completely different concept, but it shines as an example of “it doesn’t always have to be perfect.” Jerry Portelli, my Psychomachia partner, won’t let me show any of the work until the show opens, but since this pieces was rejected (at least by me), we’ll call it my lesson in humility…

…here it is, Gluttony Rejected.

PSYCHOMACHIA will open in Arizona!

Posted on October 21, 2010 by R.L. Gibson

THE CIRCUS IS COMING!

If you haven’t heard already, Arizona artist Jerry Portelli and I have been working on Psychomachia, our show of diptychs portraying the Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Holy Virtues and Circus Sideshow Freaks, for approximately a year & a half.

Great News…we are finishing the show as we speak, and
Psychomachia will open at Perihelion Arts in April 2011!

ART PUBLICATION: The Flaneur

Posted on August 29, 2010 by R.L. Gibson

ART
PUBLICATION
RESULTS

At ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, I spend a lot of time preaching about the benefits of Art Publication and why you should enter art shows. So, it only seems fitting that I publish my occasional results that address both.

In June, ArtAndArtDeadlines.com posted a blog about The Flaneur, an Independent Art & Culture Newspaper. I followed my own advice and submitted one of my favorite pieces called Pieces of Me: Fat. Below is the front page of the latest edition of The Flaneur along with the page on which my piece appears. Click the image below to go to The Flaneur!

ART FOR CHARITY: Artists Pages

Posted on April 21, 2010 by R.L. Gibson

The Artists’ Pages are up and running on Art For Charity ( http://artforcharityblog.com/rl_gibson.html). Take a look!

R.L. GIBSON: Art for Charity

Posted on April 9, 2010 by R.L. Gibson

ART FOR CHARITY RAISES MONEY FOR LOCAL NON-PROFITS

Michael Mitchell Interiors hosts Art For Charity, May 19 to June 13, at 438 King Street, Charleston. The gallery will be open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Michael Mitchell of Michael Mitchell Interiors “I saw a way I could use my contacts and talents to help the community,” Michael Mitchell (pictured right), owner of Michael Mitchell Interiors, said.

“I look forward to working with each of the non-profit groups to raise money for their very special causes this year and in future years.”

Through regular gallery hours and special invitation-only receptions, artwork sold from local and national artists raises money for local non-profit organizations including:

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center
Charleston Breast Center
MUSC Children’s Hospital
Five local Habitat for Humanity affiliates
Ronald McDonald House
American Red Cross
South Carolina Aquarium
Roper Saint Francis Ryan White Program.

Art For Charity features a wide variety of artwork from local and national artists. Artists include:

Carol Kamm
Marty Biernbaum
Deanna Bowdish
Terry Brennan
Joe Byrne
John Crum
R.L. Gibson
Heidi Darr-Hope
Toni Elkins
Rex Hunter
Jon Ives
Kim Keats
Karen Keen-Day
Stephen Kishel
Alicia Leeke
Elena Madden
Debbie Martin
Betsy McDonald
Easter Melton
Bruce Nellsmith
Betsey Stevenson
Darlett Stone
Carl Turner
Marlies Williams

The style of the work ranges from traditional to modern, is both two and three dimensional and encompasses a variety of media.

Ashley Wieters Redmond, Director of the Ryan White Program, said, “The Roper Saint Francis Ryan White Program looks forward to their new partnership with Michael Mitchell and his Art for Charity event this year.”

“I believe the event will help bring awareness to the community on HIV/AIDS and services the Ryan White program offers while supporting Lowcountry artists. It’s all for a good cause.”

ENDINGS & BEGINNINGS

Posted on March 21, 2010 by R.L. Gibson

What a busy few days, weeks and months it has been. I have changed jobs, begun the final stages of opening a new music store, competed in a singer/songwriter competition at the Hard Rock Gatlinburg…and, oh, the art.

I am finishing up the last few pieces of a show named Psychomachia–a year-long project with Arizona artist Jerry Portelli. I am sad to see the creation portion of the show coming to an end, but excited about being able to soon reveal the work and see the show get legs.

I have started laying the groundwork for a new show, yet unnamed, with South Carolina-based artist Michaela Pilar Brown, that will revolve around the changing image of mental-illness in our new, digitized, fast-food world.

My husband Jon Ives has finally found his mojo again as a photographer, and we have secured spots in a group show during Spoleto. In addition, he installs work at The Shops at Carousel Gardens on Monday, March 22nd, and we have both applied for the Knoxville Art & Culture Alliance‘s 2010 Arts in the Airport Exhibit.

Changes are afoot, folks, changes are afoot.

ART THEFT: An Odd Compliment

Posted on December 17, 2009 by R.L. Gibson

Have you ever had a piece of artwork stolen? Me too…more than once. Within the past two weeks, “Sally,” part of a triptych called “Sue . Sally . Sara .” was stolen off a gallery wall.

I received both a phone message and an email from the Director of the organization and the Director of the gallery–frought with professionalism and concern. My response? “Stuff happens,” and “Hey, I take it as a compliment…I’m theft-worthy.”

For me, the theft poses questions like…“What was wrong with the other pieces in the triptych”…not “How could this happen.”

As a gallery owner and then director for many years, please take my advice on this one. Do not have a hysterical fit that reinforces the idea that all artists are crazy and irrational.

Yes, I understand that you may be attached to the artwork. “Sally” is a part of my masthead at RLGibson.com, but you’ve got to let it go. Galleries and their owners and directors do the best they can; do me a favor, and give them a break. Most of them are insured.

Do you have a story of art theft and intrigue to share? Send me an email or leave a comment on this post. Have Happy Holidays!

RESULTS: National Juried Show

Posted on November 1, 2009 by R.L. Gibson

The media in which I work is Xerography. And I’ve spent years trying to find the technique that works best for me. SC Artist Kim Lemasters introduced me to Xerography and showed me his method. His method didn’t work for me…my first methods didn’t work for me. Years later, I’m comfortable with my own process and find that it is still changing. As my aptitude increases, my results change in unexpected ways.

For years, I worked on wood. And honestly, I still prefer to work on wood. However, I had work on wood that in my gut I knew was good that I couldn’t get shown. I reworked some of the pieces on canvas and sent them to the same galleries as juried entries for different shows…and voila! They were juried into the same galleries where they had previously been rejected. It was at that point that I had to confront the issues of satisfying the marketing and realizing that it was not all about my process.

I began producing ALL of my work for show on canvas while producing a few pieces on wood here and there because I loved them. The result was a long resume of national shows and a secret belief (held by all artists I suspect) that some galleries and jurors simply have better taste and fewer biases about what constitutes “art” than others.

I decided to enter the Arts & Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibit of 2009 featured on the September Deadlines Post of ArtAndArtDeadlines.com. As an experiment, I entered two pieces on canvas and a triptych on wood…just as a last hurrah for my sadly rejected wood pieces. Only one piece could be juried into the show. Wouldn’t you know… the wood triptych (pictured below) made the cut.

So, the moral of the story? Oh hell, I don’t know…never give up on a piece you believe in? have faith that eventually a juror will get it? there’s no rhyme or reason to taste?

Pick one. Your guess is as good as mine.

ROAD TRIP: 250 miles for Shakespeare

Posted on October 14, 2009 by R.L. Gibson

It has to be said…I love Shakespearean literature. I confess to being a Romantic. I confess to loving Hamlet. I confess to having committed to memory endless passages of hackneyed lines so as to have them on the tip of my tongue at just the right moment. I confess that I derive inspiration from the cadence of every line. I confess. I confess. I confess.

In 2004, I lived in a tiny town in South Carolina with a lovely community theatre called the Pine Tree Playhouse. Its players are still among my dearest friends. In the summer of 2004, we decided to do Shakespeare in the Park in hopes that a handful of the 3500 residents would come and watch.

About 100 people saw the show over 2 weekends, but we were not discouraged. Shakefest was born–a day long Shakespearean festival to be held outdoors…a festival dedicated to fresh, and often odd adaptations of Shakespearean literature–from a mobster version of Julius Caesar to a black and white TV sitcom version of The Three Witches scene (see pictured left).

I saw the festival through its first two years before I moved, and I still can’t stay away. I’m not on stage anymore, but I attend every year. Well, the time for Shakefest 2009 has come–Saturday and Sunday, October 17th and 18th. I’ll be there for my dose of inspiration. Join me. It is only $5 for adults and $3 for children for the full day. You can enjoy the performances as well as a turkey leg, a few baked goods and lots of costumed performers.

Come in costume… the Queen is waiting!

I’ll see you there! R.L. Gibson

PSYCHOMACHIA: Gluttony

Posted on October 12, 2009October 12, 2009 by R.L. Gibson

I find myself working on Gluttony for the Psychomachia series today. Gluttony is represented in a Biblical sense by the bite of the apple. Thematically, gluttony is being represented by the sideshow freak “World’s Fattest Woman.”

My subject is the world’s fattest woman only metaphorically, of course. And then I began to wonder how many women live as the world’s fattest woman everyday–wallowing in guilt over their own perceived Gluttony, often false or imagined. I wonder.

Tag: Artist R.L. Gibson

LESSONS LEARNED

ART PUBLICATION RESULTS

ART
PUBLICATION
RESULTS