Full Circle – Paintings by Stevie Chun @ Sagebrush Cafe

Does it sound paranoid to say that we’re seeing circles everywhere? No matter where we look – circles, and circles within circles.

They are in our eyes, double circles of pupil and lens. They are in the sky, one blazing sphere burning down at us by day as another struggles through the night, grasping always to be complete. There are circles made by man down here. There are children swiveling the hoola hoop until they let it fall at their feet. And it all repeats. Cycles. Circles within circles.

It’s all connected. It’s all about connection.

As Stevie Chun writes in her artist statement for the show:

The circles in “Full Circle” signify events in life. These life events are monumental in shaping who we are as individuals while connecting us to one another, all of them, big and small.

For this series, Chun is painting with ink and watercolor and attaching the paintings to wood. Each piece features a multitude of circles, which Chun describes as a “modest shape” but one that also “has many symbolic meanings across cultures. Circles represent the complexity and completeness of life. In this circular form we can all be connected – able to find common ground.”

An ancient symbol of unity, the circle also evokes notions of the cycle of life, tying it to the most fundamental mythologies of origins – life emerging, cresting, blazing a fullness of being, and returning from whence it came.

The images here recall the feeling of first seeing deep space telescope images from the Hubble – bright galaxies wheeling reaching back toward beginnings too dim to recall.

But the brightness is what we see in those telescopic images. The fecundity of the cosmos…shining like a party in the distant corners of the sky. Each image, like each piece in Chun’s “Full Circle,” is a celebration of this well-spring, this energy.

Showing Now:

Full Circle

Paintings by Stevie Chun

at Sagebrush Cafe

42104 50th Street West

Quartz Hill, CA 93536

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Gabriele Baber Brings Her Painting(s) to the Antelope Valley

The Antelope Valley is lucky to count a new artist among its ranks of painters, writers, sketch artists, collagists and film makers. Gabreile Baber brings a deep art catalog, years of painting experience, and an obvious talent to the Lancaster/Palmdale area. She is looking to make connections, so if you are viewing this article and like what you see, please reach out. 

Send a comment and we can put you in touch with Baber. Better yet, visit her blog and reach out to her there. 

The following is nabbed from Baber’s blog:

“German born artist Gabriele Baber has been an artist all her life. Years of study at the University level and study with prominent artists, such as David Leffel, Richard McDaniel, Daniel Greene, Brenda Swenson, Tom Lynch, Robert Burridge, Chris VanWinkle, JoAnna Arnett, Elizebeth Tolley, Greg LaRock and others too numberous to mention have helped to develop Gabriele’s skill level to the proficiency that it is today. With a broad range of study, Gabriele’s work shows a high level of skill in a variety of mediums.

“The award-winning California artist’s work expresses her passion for painting through the use of exciting, vivid color and drama. Whether working in oil, acrylic, watercolors, or pastel, Baber paints with an eye for dramatic color, and expresses herself through her art, painting realistically with an expressionistic flair.

“Those who collect her work admire her ability to capture the essence of nature in her own unique way. Gabriele’s work is found on the cover of the book, Temecula Valley, then and now. Her work has been the signature art for the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival.  Her work is in the permanent collection of the Temecula Valley Arts Council, and the Balloon and Wine festival office as well as various locations through out the globe. .Nationally, her work garnered the Reno Air Race Poster and is still the only woman to have the honor of painting the award winning poster.

“As an artist and teacher, she encourages her students to express themselves through art focusing on the process, not the product. Through gentle critique and positive reinforcement, her students are able to find their own style and voice in their art.

“Recently, due to her husband’s job, Gabriele relocated from a long time residence in Temecula, California, to Palmdale, California, in June of 2014, where she continues to work as a freelance artist.”

 

 

Take a look at Baber’s work at the IDYLLWILD LIVING ROOM GALLERY and at her blog.