Posted by: thepinetree on 11/04/2013 01:23 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 11/04/2013 01:29 PM
Expires: 01/01/2018 12:00 AM
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Art at Pickle Patch
San Andreas, CA...Valley Springs artist Libby Fife is showing artwork at the Pickle Patch. The display will run from 11/4 through 11/15
Making art has come to me later in life. I find that painting allows me to express, through design and content, what I think and feel about my interests and the environment around me. With the exception of writing, painting is the only other creative outlet that gives me the freedom to explore and share with others the subjects that interest me. I am entirely self taught with the exception of a class here and there. The past five years have been a time of growth and learning with regard to the technical aspects of painting and in a much broader sense, in developing my personal art aesthetic and approach to art making.
My techniques for painting are simple and straightforward and match my personality. I am a task-oriented person who is interested in learning about history and the environment in which I live. Paintings begin with an idea or concept-a “what if” kind of question. Groups of photos are used to create detailed drawings and color sketches. This allows me to see what the finished painting might look like. Once I am satisfied with the results of the sketches, the final painting is done with acrylics on a gessoed wood board.
My work is project driven and reflects two things: what I am currently learning about at any given moment and my interest in the design or composition of a painting as I see it. Because of this curiosity, projects or “runs” of paintings are based on some idea I want to explore in both a visual and written way. The ideas could be something about my landscape, or an interest in an old building in my town, or just something about history that I find compelling. Photographs, both my own and vintage ones I find, along with writing help to structure and support each project. The common denominator in all of this is my desire to learn about something that interests me, to paint it and to write about it, while making a strong and interesting-to-me composition to support it. Compositions that include the human figure and architecture are what I focus on. Detail is kept to a minimum and centers on the things that interest me the most: curvilinear lines set against more rigid horizontal and vertical elements. With the human figure, facial expressions are excluded in order to allow the viewer to make their own conclusions about emotions, etc. It’s the gesture, posture or interaction of several figures that interests me. To me, people and objects are not stagnant even if they are frozen in time in a photo. Shapes, colors, and light and shadow are important too but really secondary to the above.
Libby Fife
Libby Fife Fine Art
Visit me here:
Blog: http://quiltedcraftsman.blogspot.com/
Web Site: Libby Fife.com
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