Water Column
Water Column & Water with Plastic
A water column is a conceptual column of water from the
surface of the sea, river or lake to the bottom and is used
for environmental studies. My research has inspired the
current installation work. The work celebrates the life
supporting qualities of our planet waters and deals with the
accelerating crisis of global warming.
Since completing this work the situation of global warming,
oil spills, dead zones and plastic pollution, all people made
problems, has grown worse. The extreme weather we have
witnessed has convinced even more of us of the urgent crisis
we face.
There is reason for hope as we work together to make changes
in our habits and follow a new path forward.
Thanks to the Ingersoll Creative Arts Center for the use of
their high-ceilinged space to photograph this work.
Water Wall
.jpg)
.jpg)
Water Wall
(oil on mylar, 88x210 inches, installation Strand Fine Art)
For many years I summered at a cottage on Lake Erie. Visual
impressions of the water dance have reappeared in my work
since I began painting. I find myself searching for the many
overlapping patterns that move on and under the water`s
surface. With “scribbles” I attempt to capture it`s depth and
fluid movement.
Water Wall was created on semi-transparent archival mylar and
employs a surface of overlapping drawn marks and painted
layers on both the front and back. The size was dictated by my
largest studio wall which I filled to surround myself with the
energy of moving water and to somehow celebrate and deepen my
connection with this basic source of life.
Estuary (selected work)
Estuary
(selected work)
This exhibition titled ESTUARY is a series of paintings and
drawings that trace the path of the out-flowing river meeting
the incoming tide from the ocean, also tracing the mix of
clear and salt water. This mixing creates a transition zone
between land and sea known as an estuary. Estuaries rank along
with tropical rain forests and coral reefs as the planets most
productive ecosystems and are in danger of disappearing if
actions are not taken to protect them and the plants and
animals that call them home.
Estuary Tracings (selected work)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Estuary Tracings
The drawings on Plexiglas layers allow the viewer to focus on the top, middle, or bottom layer of the work and experience the many directions of the water`s path in an estuary. With scribbles I attempt to make visible a tracing of the water`s path
REVIEW by R.B.Flowers SSC, Visual Arts Specialist
In ESTUARY, Gibson’s focus is on the lower course of a river where it flows into the sea, a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments. Salty tidal flows churn and seethe as they merge with fresh water. The rich nutrients resulting in teeming habitats for fish and wildlife, captured by Gibson in sensuous layers of oil stick glowing on and behind her translucent Mylar ‘canvases,’ her scribbled calligraphic strokes simultaneously metamorphosing into turbulent watery surges, schools of fish or roiling surf. For each viewer, it will be different. Yes, there is a mystery here; some will see straight lines as hints of man-made docks, piers or even, . . . shipwrecks.
Rivers and Ponds (selected work)
Frozen Record (selected work)
Frozen Record
Selected Work (series of 18)
4inx4in
Mixed media and collage on glass and plexiglass
Ice Garden (selected work)
Ice Garden
(selected work)
A sense of mystery is central in all of my work. I continue to
be fascinated with water and it`s transition from one form to
another. Ice contains the best archival record of our past on
earth.
In the series Ice Garden and Frozen Record I question what
might be discovered in our current melting icecaps from a past
age or what record of our world might be frozen in a future
ice age.
I`m very pleased to share this exhibition with George Whitney.
The very act of looking in and through his beautiful glass
sculptures captures what I try to express in my own work.
Ice Melting (selected work)
Ice Melting
(selected work)
Ice River was created in response to the stories of the
earth’s melting ice caps, the flooding and changing shorelines
that will result and the wonder and foreboding that the home
we share is changing rapidly.
“The energetic and frenetic drawings of Pat Gibson continues
to evolve and emerge from the multiple layers of marks,
scribbles and scratchings that celebrate and mirror the
connection with self, the natural elements and notion of
place. Landscape withholds a sense of timelessness and
interconnectedness that leads one to find their own place in
the world. Gibson invites us to explore a place that exists,
as a personal memory informed by everyday events yet remains
at the same time an entity that is universally understood.”
“Like many artists, water becomes symbolic in her work. The
river becomes an accumulation of myth and memory fed by
tributaries of cultural histories. Reinterpretation of events
become fragmented, distorted and consumed into the
subconscious and remain in a perpetual state of instability of
meaning. It is common that everyday, ordinary places bear
witness to extraordinary events and topical environmental
concerns such as global warming, volcanic eruptions or
tsunamis have catastrophic repercussions on communities,
wildlife and cultural beliefs and values. What do we choose to
cherish?”
Patricia Deadman, Curator Art in Public Spaces Woodstock
House Under Water (selected work)
House Under Water
(selected work)
I know I have internalized the disaster stories in recent
times of tsunamis, hurricanes, meltings, flood predictions,
oil spills, our sick planet waters and even market crashes. In
following the work I feel it has lead me to an expression of
deep concern for our future as a species on the planet.
Water Dance (Early Work)
Early Work: Layered Water Dance
"My Juror's Choice is Pat Gibson's "Layered Water Dance: Dive". I was immediately drawn to it and kept coming back to enjoy it again. I feel she demonstrates a confident use of the medium. The composition is subtle yet engaging. lt incorporates an almost monochromatic palette and a rhythmic tension. Overall I find it to be a successful image both technically and aesthetically. lt is not too surprising to me that this work stands out since Pat has been producing consistently good work for many years." -Jens Thielsen