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I'm very excited that my Painting called Capture of Autumn was selected to be included in this national exhibit. The Stamford Art Association has presented the Faber Birren Color Award Exhibit at its Townhouse Gallery, 39 Franklin Street, Stamford CT since 1980. The exhibit honors Faber Birren, world renowned color theorist and former Stamford, CT resident. He wrote extensively on color and published 40 books and over 250 articles on the subject. His color theory work was used by the Nave and the Walt Disney Company. This competition is the only artistic event devoted exclusively to the use of color. The jurors for this exhibit are usually chosen from major NYC museums and organizations such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, and Southeby's. Faber Birren, one of the most prominent scholars in the field of the theory of color, spent most of his career studying the influence of color on art, the workplace, and human psychology. His work, which was donated to Yale University’s Art and Architecture Library, is now referred to as Birren color theory. In 1934 he established his own company and worked as an industrial color consultant, advising clients on the psychological effects of color on safety, employee morale, productivity and sales. His recommendations included changing wall and interior colors to reduce visual fatigue, and using bright colors on machinery to reduce accidents. DuPont, Monsanto, and General Electric were among his clients as well as the military. The Faber Birren Color Award Exhibit pulls in artists internationally and is held for 6 weeks in September and October annually. 40 artists are selected by the juror and their work is displayed at the Townhouse Gallery. Cash awards are funded by his family and friends to honor Diane Etienne Faxon, who helped create the exhibit. 
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Exhibit Dates: September 18-January 2, 2022 Location: Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum and Online Reception: Thursday October 7, 2021, 5:30-7:30 www.stamfordartassociation.org/pdfs/blank_virtual_artists.pdf      Images of trains weave in and out of my body of work. I find the whole genre of railroad art very compelling. I was gratified when this painting from 2014, sold recently in Framingham, MA. I did a large series of train and railroad related paintings in 2013-2014. The painting is called Spirit of the Train, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches.
I'm very excited to be featured in the Associate Member exhibit at Fountain Street Gallery, Harrison Ave. Boston MA. The name of the exhibit is called The Momentary. Here is a link to the press release. mailchi.mp/fsfaboston/associate-member-show-the-momentary-august-429?fbclid=IwAR2AbOtoPkLBzqbnVOcTLsQt89W4PEuKnnkQHMfiJ9GEBQ2sCW-wNdsY1Qg Since March of 2020, my world changed quite significantly. Primarily because of the COVID 19 virus, I moved from my studio in Easthampton, MA to a home studio where I live in a small hamlet called Wyben, in Western MA. While adjusting to this change my father who is ninety-four years old, needed to hospitalized. Because of COVID, we were unable to be with him in the hospital, which was excruciating for me, for him, and for my siblings. Through this time coping with these circumstances, I realized moments are not always perceived in the same way. I discovered there are times when moments seem to slow down and passage the of time becomes palpable. In this small series of paintings, I have explored this phenomenon. A listless, dreamless night, times waiting for news of a sick loved one, or just in the state of waiting, and my Dad sitting on the porch to fill his idle days, all exemplify this state of elongated moments.  Title: Dad on the Porch, oil on board, 14 x 11 x 1.5 inches
 Above: Strada, Oil on Canvas, 36 x 36 inches.
I’m working right now with two galleries. One of the galleries is called The District Gallery in Knoxville, TN. The way I was accepted into this gallery was interesting, one of those exciting moments in a career that you never forget. I apply to many calls for artists because I want my work shown in as many states and cities as possible. In 2014, was accepted for a large art exhibit in Cincinnati, Ohio through a group called Art Design Consultants. I travelled to Cincinnati and attended the huge opening which encompassed two floors of an office building. It was announced at the opening that I had been awarded gallery representation by the District Gallery if I accepted. During the reception my painting was projected on a huge wall along with other featured artists. I've just sent five paintings to them from my "Into the Light Series" to join a painting they already have of mine, called "Tuscan Dream". I'm excited to have this group of paintings out in the world, being shown in this beautiful gallery near the Smoky Mountains.  My family is from a small village in Canada called Saint-Raphaël. The village is north of Québec City. As a child, I remember this tiny town and other small towns like it, that were very modest but the churches very grand. When we went inside some of the churches, I felt like I was transported into another world, or as if I was inside a jewelry box. I was enchanted by the detail of the gold encrusted architecture and candles. It was more than I could take in visually. We visited large cathedrals in Quebec City, and the size and grandeur were overwhelming. The pillars evoked the feeling of being in a forest where I could get lost for days.
I had a similar experience when I visited Tuscany. While exploring the hot and noisy towns in the summer, I stopped in several cathedrals. The feeling of being transported from the worldly to other worldly was the same. I felt enveloped by the cool darkness and musty smells of the spaces, and I felt the weight of the history and tradition of the centuries-old Christian art and architectural structures of the Renaissance. When I visited New Mexico last year, I was also struck by the churches I visited--especially the revered pilgrimage site Santuario de Chimayo. In this church, however, I was not impressed by the ornamentation and glittering gold architecture, but by the simplicity and primitive art in the wooden interior. This space is historically rich, but it’s the simplicity that makes it just as evocative as the churches I described in Canada and Tuscany. If it’s possible to travel, I would like to spend an extended time in Spain exploring the sacred architecture of not only the churches, but the mosques and synagogues. As a lifelong student and painter of expressionism, I plan to spend part of the time in Toledo studying the paintings of El Greco. The painting, above, called "Sanctuary" , was inspired by my exploration of sacred architecture. It was recently sold by The District Gallery in Knoxville, TN. This painting was also included in a virtual exhibit with ECVA. ecva.org/exhibition/worship/exhibit21-CGibbs.html I'm excited to be included in an online collection from Fountain Street Gallery in Boston. These collections help highlight my work that is being offered in 1stdibs.com It helps put the work in context with a narrative and allows viewers to enjoy the benefits of seeing one artist's work in relation to another's. Here is a link to the collection.
 Sometimes as artists we can feel like our reserves for ideas and inspiration are tapped out. During these times we may feel like we are in a creative desert. I've realized that it is important to replenish our reserves and for me it begins with changing my environment. Spending time in new places fuels my creative spirit. I painted this painting called Desert Moonrise over a year after visiting Taos, New Mexico. I believe it is a conglomeration of my memories of the southwestern parts of The U.S., including New Mexico and Arizona, where I visited many years ago. The painting is not any particular place but an image from my subconscious.
I painted "The Dark Pond" after an unexpected snow fall in October, 2020. I've been interested in the pools of water as I take walks close to where I live. These small bodies of water seem to come to life in the winter after the foliage is gone and they are more exposed. The snow fall makes them even more compelling because of the contrast of the white against the dark water.  |
Catherine Picard-Gibbs- Through my paintings, I have become attentive to the splendid drama of my everyday world; how light hangs on a tree or building, the movement or stillness of water passing under a bridge, the mystery of a tunnel, a church interior or the grit of a train yard. My work is contemporary but takes inspiration from painters of the past. Archives
September 2021
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