That's me doing one of my many things! I am an artist but I also enjoy hiking, reading, cooking, and spending time with my cats.
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Thank you for taking the time to view my work. Getting to know an artist and learning about what they do is an important component to enjoying the art that they make. Please read on to see what it is all about.
What is this art about?/Artist statement:
When I was a kid, I enjoyed working on puzzles. These were the type with about 1000 pieces inside the box and a picture on the front showing the final image. Trying to find the right piece was a challenge but in the end, the picture eventually appeared and the puzzle was finished.
Today, this idea of putting together a puzzle is how I think of what I love to do as an artist. Rather than using literal puzzle pieces though, I use color, line, and shape to express what I think or feel about the world around me. I do a fair amount of reading, mostly about science based topics. I also like documentaries and I like having conversations with people about things that are happening in the world. Much of what I learn about would be difficult to translate into art, for me anyway. My mind just doesn't work like that. What I do instead is work with shape, line, and color. Those components of design come to represent, for me at least, a little something about what I learned. As an example, my current work for 2020 uses a lot of fluid, organic shapes interlocked together. They very much remind me of DNA or chromosomes or something vaguely biomorphic. I didn't set out to do represent those things deliberately. It's more like that idea came into focus as I connected my learning with what I was making. Kind of like the "cart before the horse" rather than the "horse before the cart". Ultimately, much of what I do is an effort to bring my impressions and ideas into the world, in some tangible way. Those things (impressions and ideas) are like puzzle pieces to me. I find that making art is a way to gather them all up and make some sense out of things, to create a pleasing final image and to solve the "puzzle".
What is a collage painting?:
I consider my art to be "collage painting" or "painted collage." For me, these terms combine two genres: traditional painting (perhaps even academic) and its use of the tools of composition such as line, shape and color, and collage which utilizes the layering of objects (usually paper) onto a surface in order to create an image. Both traditional painting and collage making have a long and venerable history and at times have been combined into one art form (think Henri Matisse). My contemporary collage paintings are a blend of those two genres. I use traditional painting concepts (composition and color theory) to guide me as I layer together (collage) my own painted papers onto a paper surface. The resulting images are a kind of synthesis of both ways of working.
What is Geometric Abstraction?:
Many artists work in a particular style. There are many genres such as realism, impressionism or abstraction. I believe my work falls somewhere into the "geometric abstraction" category. What does that term mean? It means literally what it sounds like: art that uses geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles and circles to create an image that may or may not have a particular meaning (it is abstract or "non-objective"). This is different than something like a traditional landscape or portrait painting where objects or people can be named and identified and the purpose of the painting seems clear. Geometric abstraction has been around and in use for hundreds of years. Most recently, starting in the early 20th century, it has been used to move away from more realistic painting and to express the purity of painting itself: materials, color usage or perhaps line and shape interaction. In any case, geometric abstract art has a long tradition in our world. A detailed history can be found here.
Artist's Bio and Influences:
(written in the third person because it's expected and oh so real!)
Libby Fife earned her B.A. degree in Psychology from Cal State University, Hayward and worked for 17 years in the banking industry. A layoff in 2007 prompted her to re evaluate her path and to look seriously at doing something more creative. Over the years, Libby has worked in several mediums in an effort to find just the right "fit." Quilting, basic printmaking, painting, and most recently collage, have all played a part in her current direction of making art.
At this stage of the game, painting directly onto paper and cutting out shapes allows for the greatest expression. Those shapes, colors and lines can be changed endlessly and arranged easily until something meaningful and pleasing is achieved. The process is very much like solving a puzzle. The finished collage painting is very satisfying in this regard.
An ongoing effort to learn about design and composition, art history and the language of creativity, along with sales and marketing, has led Libby to her current level of work. She has sold her work both in and out of the county where she lives and has exhibited her paintings in local shows. Additionally, Libby has taught classes in sketching and color use to beginning/intermediate painters. Currently, Libby shows her work online with her blog, Libby Fife Fine Art, on Facebook (Libby Fife Fine Art) and on Instagram under Libby Fife Fine Art.
When I was a kid, I enjoyed working on puzzles. These were the type with about 1000 pieces inside the box and a picture on the front showing the final image. Trying to find the right piece was a challenge but in the end, the picture eventually appeared and the puzzle was finished.
Today, this idea of putting together a puzzle is how I think of what I love to do as an artist. Rather than using literal puzzle pieces though, I use color, line, and shape to express what I think or feel about the world around me. I do a fair amount of reading, mostly about science based topics. I also like documentaries and I like having conversations with people about things that are happening in the world. Much of what I learn about would be difficult to translate into art, for me anyway. My mind just doesn't work like that. What I do instead is work with shape, line, and color. Those components of design come to represent, for me at least, a little something about what I learned. As an example, my current work for 2020 uses a lot of fluid, organic shapes interlocked together. They very much remind me of DNA or chromosomes or something vaguely biomorphic. I didn't set out to do represent those things deliberately. It's more like that idea came into focus as I connected my learning with what I was making. Kind of like the "cart before the horse" rather than the "horse before the cart". Ultimately, much of what I do is an effort to bring my impressions and ideas into the world, in some tangible way. Those things (impressions and ideas) are like puzzle pieces to me. I find that making art is a way to gather them all up and make some sense out of things, to create a pleasing final image and to solve the "puzzle".
What is a collage painting?:
I consider my art to be "collage painting" or "painted collage." For me, these terms combine two genres: traditional painting (perhaps even academic) and its use of the tools of composition such as line, shape and color, and collage which utilizes the layering of objects (usually paper) onto a surface in order to create an image. Both traditional painting and collage making have a long and venerable history and at times have been combined into one art form (think Henri Matisse). My contemporary collage paintings are a blend of those two genres. I use traditional painting concepts (composition and color theory) to guide me as I layer together (collage) my own painted papers onto a paper surface. The resulting images are a kind of synthesis of both ways of working.
What is Geometric Abstraction?:
Many artists work in a particular style. There are many genres such as realism, impressionism or abstraction. I believe my work falls somewhere into the "geometric abstraction" category. What does that term mean? It means literally what it sounds like: art that uses geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles and circles to create an image that may or may not have a particular meaning (it is abstract or "non-objective"). This is different than something like a traditional landscape or portrait painting where objects or people can be named and identified and the purpose of the painting seems clear. Geometric abstraction has been around and in use for hundreds of years. Most recently, starting in the early 20th century, it has been used to move away from more realistic painting and to express the purity of painting itself: materials, color usage or perhaps line and shape interaction. In any case, geometric abstract art has a long tradition in our world. A detailed history can be found here.
Artist's Bio and Influences:
(written in the third person because it's expected and oh so real!)
Libby Fife earned her B.A. degree in Psychology from Cal State University, Hayward and worked for 17 years in the banking industry. A layoff in 2007 prompted her to re evaluate her path and to look seriously at doing something more creative. Over the years, Libby has worked in several mediums in an effort to find just the right "fit." Quilting, basic printmaking, painting, and most recently collage, have all played a part in her current direction of making art.
At this stage of the game, painting directly onto paper and cutting out shapes allows for the greatest expression. Those shapes, colors and lines can be changed endlessly and arranged easily until something meaningful and pleasing is achieved. The process is very much like solving a puzzle. The finished collage painting is very satisfying in this regard.
An ongoing effort to learn about design and composition, art history and the language of creativity, along with sales and marketing, has led Libby to her current level of work. She has sold her work both in and out of the county where she lives and has exhibited her paintings in local shows. Additionally, Libby has taught classes in sketching and color use to beginning/intermediate painters. Currently, Libby shows her work online with her blog, Libby Fife Fine Art, on Facebook (Libby Fife Fine Art) and on Instagram under Libby Fife Fine Art.
