Psychomachia – Artist R.L. Gibson

Chastity: The Mermaid

Posted on April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 by R.L. Gibson

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.

…………

MERMAID on the Move…

Posted on July 9, 2014 by R.L. Gibson

SWIM AWAY!

One of my little friends has found a new home! That’s right, one of the 4″ x 4″ monoprints of Chastity: The Mermaid from the Psychomachia series has found a new home.

If you would like have a miniature print of Chastity (or other sins/virtues) of your very own, check out The Haggus Society FB Store, then click on Haggus Society Member Wares to find more of my little friends!

Follow me on Facebook
for images of new work!

Gluttony x 2

Posted on January 31, 2014January 31, 2014 by R.L. Gibson

…AD NAUSEUM

A couple of weeks ago, I published both the original and the final of Gluttony: The World’s Fattest Woman from the Psychomachia series. And I appreciate the feedback I received. Several people have asked if there were MORE gluttony images. There are. In fact, I finished the Gluttony piece last in the series because I just kept trying and then changing my mind.

The image at left was the second attempt–just after the circus tent piece. If you look closely, you’ll note an apple tattoo on the right hip. I thought it would be a subtle Adam & Eve reference providing the religious tie-in to the seven deadly sins. But, the longer I looked at it, the more subtle it seem to become.

Gluttony attempt 3 by Artist R.L. Gibson So, I went back to the proverbial, read ubiquitous, drawing board–enter the ACTUAL apple. In a humorous nod to stock photography, I added a heart-shaped bite mark in the apple. I liked this piece for about 5 minutes. I trudged through other versions that were never edited, or even saved.

Sometimes I remind myself that while taking pretty pictures would be easier, I would never be at peace with a pretty picture.

I would never sleep
with all the ugly images
tumbling around in my head.

Mini Me AVAILABLE NOW!

Posted on January 17, 2014January 17, 2014 by R.L. Gibson

PRINTS
of a sort

I get a surprising number of requests for prints even each of my pieces is a monoprint. I understand that not everyone has several feet of wall space for surrealist, pop-art portrait with a less than subtle political message. So, for my next show (Do I Know You? opening in July of 2014), I intend to sell a handful of paper prints for a charitable cause.

In the meantime, you might not realize it, but a small number of 4″ x 4″ prints on gallery-wrapped canvas DO exist of the Psychomachia Show. You can own one today by going to the the Facebook store of The Haggus Society.

Take a look…

ALL ABOARD: The Circus is headed to NH.

Posted on October 26, 2012 by R.L. Gibson

NO,
It is not an
Election Reference

Three of the members of my own personal art circus are headed to New Hampshire for the Winter Salon Show at the Soo Rye Art Gallery in Rye, NH. Of the 12 pieces I submitted, they chose Pride, Greed and Patience (left to right below). What an odd combination. Greed is one of my favorites in the Psychomachia series, and of course, I love them all like my children. But visually and philosophically, they make for an unusual combination. It makes me wish more than ever that I could attend this opening.

For those of you that can’t make it the opening either,
here’s a little taste…

ID – The Object of Self

Posted on October 8, 2012October 8, 2012 by R.L. Gibson

GREAT
SHOW!

I am pleased to have been included in ID – The Object of Self at the Darkroom Gallery in Essex Junction, VT. Here’s a great pic of my little mermaid hanging amongst the other juried participants. Bottom right corner.

Be sure to visit the
Darkroom Gallery online

for a sneak peak
at the exhibit!

R.L. GIBSON and The Surrealist Influence

Posted on April 11, 2012 by R.L. Gibson

DALI ME, dahling

I am proud to have two pieces in The Surrealist Influence on Contemporary Photography at the Hideout Theatre in Austin, TX, curated by Lanie McCormick!

Chastity: The Mermaid
and
Lust: The Three Legged Man

…from the Psychomachia series will be on display from May 5th to June 2nd!

“Surrealism started out as a philosophical movement in the 1920s. The Manifesto, written by André Breton laid out the goals of the surrealist group which was comprised of writers, philosophers and artists. Freud was a huge influence on the movement with his practice of interpreting the meaning of dreams. That idea played out visually amongst the group which left us with rich visual oddities from artists such as Dali, Magritte, Ernst, Miro and Man Ray.

“I feel the surrealist artists impacted my own methods of creating, and encouraged me to look within to find a deeper significance with my art. Now I am looking for other photographers who have followed a similar path and others who have felt a kindred connection to the surrealist artists or movement.” –Lanie McCormick, Curator

BUSY MONTH for Artist R.L. Gibson!

Posted on October 1, 2011November 10, 2011 by R.L. Gibson

TRUCKIN’
MY ARTWORK
into the Fall!

Okay, I admit it. I’ve fallen down on the blogging job again… It has been over a month since I posted an update to this blog. But, my excuse this month is the best one that I’ve ever had…

Artwork is flying (well, truckin’ actually) out the door!

September was a crazy month for Artist R.L. Gibson, and October is shaping up to be a whirlwind as well. It started with acceptance into the Persona show at the Darkroom Gallery in Vermont, continued with acceptance into the Edges & Curves show in L.A. The Edges & Curves show led to an offer of a solo show at RicRoks Tattoos in L.A. this December, and the month was topped off by being chosen as a Featured Artist on MyArtSpace.com! (That’s me top left in the screen shot to the right!)

For the first time in my artistic career, I have more show opportunities than available work to show. How crazy is that? I couldn’t ask for better motivation to create new work. Wooohooo!

Thanks for all the love and support,
and stay tuned for show details!

I JUST ENTERED: Edges & Curves

Posted on August 27, 2011 by R.L. Gibson

SHARP
EDGES
AHEAD!

I just entered a half a dozen of my Psychomachia xerography pieces into Edges & Curves, Nothing in Between sponsored in part by The Haggus Society. The deadline is midnight (pacific time) on September 1st…so you’d better not waste time. Edges & Curves, Nothing In Between attempts to bust the myth that the older creative has lost her or his edge.

“In a youth oriented society, the conventional wisdom is that the younger artist is the risk taker and rule breaker. And while those who would follow conventional wisdom believe we soften as we get older, there are those who actually hone their edges to craft a message with more bite and risk because of their station in life.”

I am a member in good standing (although not quite 40…9 months to go) of The Haggus Society, but even if you are not a member, entry is only $12 for SIX images. You can’t beat the price for a Highland Park, California show. I’ll let you know how it turns out once I receive notification.

You’ve only got a few days left to enter… so hurry!

PSYCHOMACHIA: Thanks to Jerry & Perihelion!

Posted on May 9, 2011 by R.L. Gibson

HINDSIGHT

I have been a bit remiss about blogging lately, but I promise to try to catch up this week. There is so much going on, and I can’t wait to share it all with you. I have TWO new bodies of work in progress: Typ(e)ical and another 115+ piece show that doesn’t quite have a name yet.

But, before I start a week’s worth of posts about the future… I want to take just a moment to say “Thank You” to Jerry Portelli, my collaborator on Psychomachia… and forever my dear friend. And another “thank you” goes to Perihelion Arts in Phoenix, AZ for taking a chance on our show. The documented photos of the show and the individual pieces have yet to be released; however, the official portrait of us at our opening is below, courtesy of Jerry. Enjoy!

Tag: Psychomachia

SECOND CHANCES

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

…………

SWIM AWAY!

Follow me on Facebook for images of new work!

…AD NAUSEUM

I would never sleep with all the ugly images tumbling around in my head.

PRINTS of a sort

Take a look…

NO, It is not an Election Reference

For those of you that can’t make it the opening either, here’s a little taste…

GREAT SHOW!

Be sure to visit the Darkroom Gallery online

for a sneak peak at the exhibit!