From birth in Utah and childhood in Southern California to college in San Francisco and motherhood in Marin – all the while with a personal and professional focus on the creative arts and technology – she’s taken a circuitous journey to her latest work. In a series aptly dubbed “Transitions,” Gibbs is exhibiting her artwork at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton) throughout May with a wine reception on May 3 (6–8pm) as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission‘s First Tuesday Artwalk.
“Living at the edge of a continent, the ground continually in a state of flux, is a running thread in my work,” Gibbs says. “The stories in my painting hint at shifting boundaries, their collision and the resulting interplay; a story told in nature and mirrored by the human experience.”
Gibbs uses oil and cold wax on cradled panels as her medium of choice. With resin and solvents in its makeup, cold wax is thick and, when combined with paint, “takes on a very buttery quality.” As a result, Gibbs has started to add other mediums and treat it like a stain or glaze.
“I am very physical when working and like all of the texture and depth this medium allows, even though the piece is quite flat physically,” she says. “Oil and cold wax is a very versatile medium. As I continue to explore, it keeps presenting new possibilities and I keep finding more ways to play.”
With an early career as a photo stylist in commercial photography, Gibbs has spent the bulk of her professional career in digital and web design, mostly recently running her own boutique web design firm.
“When you look at a photo of a product or a graphic on the screen, what you are noticing is the space around it,” Gibbs says. “The empty space is the magic that reveals all else. This carries over and onto my canvas.”
The 411: Georgia Gibbs exhibits her “Transitions” paintings at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, 85 Throckmorton Avenue, throughout May. The First Tuesday Artwalk receptions are Tuesday, May 3, 6–8pm. First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.