Gayle Gerson : Artist

Tree Hugger

ggerson — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:48:45 +0000

I did this my latest in the series of forest collages as a demonstration for the Art Students’ League of Grand Junction in November. My demo was how to approach combining collage with oil paint. I brought along a collage background done on a cradled board, 12×12 inches. I had given the collage background several coats of clear gesso.
I finished this piece rather quickly, almost entirely during the demo. I just added a few finishing touches when I got home (the red dot and some integration of colors).
This artwork is for sale for $500.00

Adobe Dawn

ggerson — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:29:00 +0000

I have had this piece hanging around my studio for a long time waiting to be finished. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted it to be a collage or a watermedia painting. Well this week I decided to finish it in watermedia. I tore off all the collage pieces that weren’t painted paper and really did very little to finish it, just refining some of the shadows on the building and bringing up some bright color in places.
It is 18 x25 inches on heavy watercolor paper and is for sale for $800.00, matted and framed.

Doppelganger

ggerson — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:16:50 +0000

I decided to return to one of my favorite ways of doing art: abstract design on yupo paper using liquid acrylics. This piece began as a demonstration of a colorful substrate in my “Adventures in Mixed Media Class” at the Art Center.
I brought it home and painted it as another in my series of “collective-consciousness” primitive god-like images. Other works in the series include “Ghosts of Africa” and “We Will Take Care of You”. I keep on wanting to title these pieces “I think they’re trying to tell us something” but I have come to understand that indeed that is why I paint them: to find out what “they” are trying to say. I hope I never find out because I do not want to stop the process. I just purchased a whole pile of yupo paper so that I may continue to work in this series.
I call it “Doppelganger” because of the two remaining circle shapes that refused to be subdued as I worked.
It is 26 x32 inches and is for sale for $1500.00, matted and framed.

Lady Tiles

ggerson — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:49:34 +0000

This small piece was done for a class project to demonstrate grid composition. I used Photoshop to manipulate copies of a watercolor painting I had done in a life drawing session. I then cut out the images and applied them to a cradled board. I was planning on adding more collage material and/or paint, but I liked it as a finished project without the added work. I coated it with several applications of UV varnish to protect the printed images.
This piece is 6 inches x 12 inches and is for sale for $98.00.

Sketchbook Project

ggerson — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:51:03 +0000

Here are three pages from the sketchbook that I completed for the 2012 Art House Co-op Sketchbook Project. All sketchbooks sent to the ArtHouse Co-op in Brooklyn, New York will go on a world-wide tour in 2012 and then will be permanently archived. I loved doing this project. I picked the theme “A Walk through the Forest” (naturally) and used treated magazine papers and ink drawing throughout the book. The entire book will be featured on their website arthousecoop.com after January 2012.

Confetti Aspens

ggerson — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:31:23 +0000

This is my latest attempt at using oil paint over a collage underpinning. My initial goal was to keep more of the collage showing, but as this piece progressed, I realized that I wanted something with a pattern to it and it evolved to its present state. This is painted on a 16 x 20 inch cradled board and is for sale for $700.00.

Bill’s Tree

ggerson — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:39:53 +0000

My former hairdresser, Bill, had an intriguing weeping mulberry tree in his front yard. It was full of intertwined branches in the winter and full of birds in the nicer weather. I always loved to pass by it on my way to his hair salon. Bill passed away in April.
I attempted this rendition of a weeping mulberry in his memory. It uses the process of depouillage which is the fancy french word for peeling away collaged materials. First, I collaged many pieces to represent leaves and branches and colors and then I scraped and pulled many of the pieces off. I followed this by applying metallic papers and paint.
This piece is on a 16×20 inch cradled board and is for sale for $500.00

Making Peace with Circles

ggerson — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:36:34 +0000

This watermedia piece was done on a hand-made piece of paper. True to my style, it also has layers of collaged materials underneath. It turned into a grid by accident as a stamped in the circles. I named it “Making Peace with Circles” because of the calm blue background and the fact that I do not like to work with circle shapes generally. They are too perfect and sort of boring. I tried to make them less than perfect. This piece was juried into the Colorado Watercolor Society‘s annual New Trends Show in Denver in September to take place at the CoArt Gallery in the Santa Fe Street art district.
It is for sale for $1200.00 framed.

Tree March

ggerson — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:15:43 +0000

This is one of my experiments with oil painting atop collage. Once I discovered clear gesso this new technique has opened up new worlds for me. I redid an old collage panel that my husband didn’t particularly like. I wanted to hang it above our fireplace in the family room, so I redid it in the hopes of making it more palatable to my husband. This 5 foot wide by 2 foot tall panel is hanging successfully in our family room. I would like to keep it in the “family”, but I would do a commission based on it.

Rock Face

ggerson — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:44:03 +0000

I just completed this mixed media collage to exhibit at the Mesa County Library in conjunction with selected pieces from the permanent collection of The Art Center. The exhibit is about Mesa County landscapes. I am generally reluctant to do an artwork depicting the Monument. I have always considered it to be a daunting undertaking because I live in the shadow of the red rocks. They are just too “monumental”. Anyway I tried it and enjoyed the process. The end product looks similiar to my pieces depicting Mt. Garfield. So be it.
This colorful work is on a 30 inch x 40 inch wrapped canvas and is for sale for $1500.00