Artist R.L. Gibson

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Artist R.L. Gibson

Category: Xerox Art

DESIGNS: The Dark Slide

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Progress continues…

Thanks to Zumiez (Sevierville) & Headquarters Skateshop (Knoxville), I have decks for The Dark Slide project sponsored by the Dubuque Area Arts Collective. They are in the midst of being sanded, primed & gesso’d. But, in the meantime, I finished the initial designs, left to right — London Calling, México Floración & Miami Reclining. (continues below)

Designs by Artist R.L. Gibson for The Dark Slide exhibit in Dubuque, Iowa!

These designs are meant to be a study in iconography and how it connects us to times & places entirely personal.  The London Eye, an umbrella and bowler hat, sugar skulls, flowers & mattress ticking, Deco-era waves, a bikini & seaweed.

Safe, but personal –the psychology of iconography.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

BEFORE: The Dark Slide

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How excited am I?

My decks have arrived.  Special thanks goes out to Zumiez (Sevierville, TN) & Headquarters Skateshop (Knoxville, TN) for hooking me up with decks for my new project for The Dark Slide sponsored by the Dubuque Area Arts Collective. (continues below)

Skate Decks for The Dark Slide project by Artist R.L. Gibson sponsored by Dubuque Area Arts Collective!

The next step is to get them sanded, primed & gesso’d for illustration transfers.  I kind of hate to sand them down because they already look pretty rad even in their current state.  But, I just gotta.  In addition to being a great art project for me, it is also a benefit for a new skatepark in Dubuque, Iowa.

Stay tuned for updates on
The Dark Slide project!

♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦

PRICING your ART.

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

My art community is international, but mostly online.  However, most creatives I know really need the company and consult of other creatives on occasion.  The Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance provides that almost-local community for me. (continues below)

Pricing Your Art WORKSHOP at the Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance!
Pricing Your Art WORKSHOP at the Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance with Artist R.L. Gibson!

I am proud to be able to provide occasional instruction as a part of their on-going Professional Development Seminar series.  On May 13th, I enjoyed the company of artists from sculptors & painters to photographers & musicians for a workshop on “How to Price your Art.”  This crowd kept me on my toes, and I think we all learned a little something.

Thanks again to the Arts & Culture Alliance of Knoxville!

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Chastity: The Mermaid

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SECOND CHANCES

The image of Chastity: The Mermaid from my Psychomachia series has resonated with viewers over & over.  It was the first piece of that series to sell, and prints have been a best-sellers.  This series reinterprets the Seven Deadly Sins & the Seven Holy Virtues as sideshow “freaks” from the circuses & fairs of yesteryear–nature’s artwork, if you will.   (continues below)

Chastity the Mermaid by RL Gibson
Chastity: The Mermaid by Artist R.L. Gibson, 24″ x 24″ Xerography on Canvas

I sought to honor the sideshow freak as the masque form of the very best and very worst of humanity, regardless of individual morality.  This work is wrapped in a celebration of the possibilities of digital media & rejects the pervasive sort of embarrassment of digital alteration in photography.  The use of square canvases in Psychomachia is meant to echo the pixel of which all digital images are comprised.

The collector that purchased this piece has been kind enough over the years to loan it back to me so that it could be shown several more times after the purchase.  Due to an odd twist of fate, this piece is available for purchase again.

If you are interested in owning
Chastity: The Mermaid,
please contact me via Facebook or email.

The pieces is currently located in Gatlinburg, TN; however, I am happy to ship the work as well.

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Postponed.

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Ice storm in KnoxvilleBETTER SAFE…

Due to the expected sub-zero temperatures and current treacherous road conditions, the Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance has postponed the “How to Price Your Art” workshop scheduled for Wednesday, February 18.  The Alliance will be in touch about rescheduling. If you have already paid, you’ll have the option for a refund or a credit toward the rescheduled date.  We appreciate your understanding!

Be safe & stay warm…

Pricing Seminar

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Cut Throat & Heart Breaker by Artist R.L. Gibson
RESERVE A SPOT
today…

The Arts & Culture Alliance (Knoxville, TN) is pleased to present a professional development seminar for artists and other creative people at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville.  Join us on Wednesday, February 18th at noon as we welcome R.L. Gibson, artist and Editor of ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, a quirky, art-themed blog offering FREE resources to artists.  She will talk about how beginning artists can learn to price their work competitively while helping the more experienced artist avoid the most common pitfalls of emotional pricing.

Having a hard time selling your work?

 

Let’s figure out why – together. The presentation is free for members of the Arts & Culture Alliance and $5 for non-members.  Please register in advance via PayPal, by phone at 865-523-7543, or by e-mail to sc@knoxalliance.com. *Note: This is a high-attendance presentation.  Make your reservation today!

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Choices.

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BECAUSE YOU ASKED..

So many of you have asked me about my preference in colored gesso.  I have pretty standard preferences in gel medium (Liquitex) and acrylic paint (Golden).  I find that an art supply is usually popular for a reason.  But occasionally, I find favorites by accident. (continues below)

First coat of gesso, Carmine by Holbein

I’ve spent years contemplating the addition of color and texture to my xerography, but all experiments have failed to impress.  Xerography, by my method, is tricky and inflexible.  Holbein to the rescue.  Lots of the big name manufacturers offer white, black & gray gesso.  But the 22 colors offered by Holbein make my heart sing (non-affiliate link). Did I mention that the packaging helps you squeeze out every last drop and makes mixing a dream? LOVE.  Carmine is my favorite.  I’ve added my first coats of gesso in prep for transfer…then paint.

Stay tuned…

♥

Experiments Continue.

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MORE COLOR

I have spent a lot of years working with an absence of color.  Black & white photography has and continues to be the cornerstone of my work.  In 2014, I opened Do I Know You with every piece featuring hand-drawn background patterns to that same b&w photography.  But, as I continue to move toward a new series, Better Than Figs, I can seem unable to avoid color. (continues below)

Transfer experiments from Artist R.L. Gibson!

I’ve been experimenting with both color and b&w photography on both white and colored gesso (examples above).  I’ve also been testing out other transfer mediums.  In the end, colored gesso will likely find a place in my work.

Stay tuned!

How to Price your Artwork

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Cut Throat by Artist R.L. Gibson
Cut Throat by Artist R.L. Gibson

What’s YOUR price?

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a professional development seminar for artists and other creative people on Wednesday, February 18, from 12:00-1:00 PM at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville. Join us as we welcome R. L. Gibson, artist and Editor of ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, a quirky, art-themed blog offering FREE resources to artists.  She will talk about how beginning artists can learn to price their work competitively while helping the more experienced artist avoid the most common pitfalls of emotional pricing. 

Having a hard time selling your work?
Let’s figure out why – together. 

The presentation is free for members of the Arts & Culture Alliance and $5 for non-members. Please register in advance via PayPal at www.knoxalliance.com/development.html, by phone at 865-523-7543, or by e-mail to sc@knoxalliance.com.

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Lessons continue.

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"Do I Know You?" by R.L. Gibson

vanished

On December 14, 2014, she finally got some peace.  Emma Gibson had just 15 days to go until her 93rd birthday, but she just couldn’t go there.  My intimate journey with her began 2 years ago today with a phone call.

When I answered that call that told me my father was in the ICU grappling with what would eventually be revealed as fatal injuries, my first thoughts were not for him but for my grandmother.  She had been in nursing care with end-stage dementia for a couple of years at that point.  And, while she could still recognize me, she was fading fast.

My journey with her through guardianship, conservatorship, and every imaginable health issue possible inspired me to share my passage from fear to resolution.  It all ended in a fairly confident summation in artist-statement-format for my July 4th opening of “Do I Know You?” that ended with “The best we can hope for is a few good photos and a really good story about how we got to the end.  Smile.  Everyone dies.”  I meant it at the moment, but…

Emma, inspiration for Artist R.L. Gibson's "Do I Know You?" series.Sometimes I am a pompous ass.

 

She’s dead.

She’s not smiling.

I’m not smiling.

She loved me.

I loved her.

I love her still.

I can’t believe she’s gone.

 

How shocking that I could be still shocked that her loss hurts this badly. It was expected; I thought I was prepared.  I was not.   Her lessons for me will continue–despite her absence.

Smile.  At least you’re not dead.

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