“Beatrice” is a portrait of my daughter when she was five years old. The photo was taken when we were walking together on an early spring morning, and the beauty of the day, the child, and the simple act of blowing a dandelion has stayed with me.
“We all have need to be trained to see, and to have our eyes opened before we can take in the joy that is meant for us in this beautiful life.” (Charlotte Mason)
Artist Statement
My art expresses gratitude for the common, lovely things of the world. Everything natural is derived from the supernatural, and every ephemeral thing is born of transcendence.
The role of the artist is to reveal the hidden source of all things. As Gogol describes in “The Portrait,” the artist imbibes the world and stores it in her mind, then draws the world back from the mind, as from a spiritual source, into one harmonious song.
Every good work of art answers the question, “Why?” My art broods over the causes of things and gives thanks for life.
Bio
Paula Gibbs grew up surrounded by books and spent many happy hours in her basement bedroom trying to copy old master drawings from musty volumes. After obtaining a degree in history from Seattle Pacific University, she completed certificates in Children’s Book Illustration and Natural Science Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her career has ranged from graphic design to communications to coordinating a graduate program, and she currently paints in the evenings after working days at a K-12 school. Her husband is an author, and both of her children have seven names.