If you spent your formative years knowing what you wanted to be when you grew up, then you actually became that, you’re surely an anomaly (or at the very least a character in a movie who is depicting, but not really being, a real-life person).
While Atlanta-based artist Gabriela Ibarra doesn’t fall under this category, her initial goal of a career in science landed her in a big bold world of botanicals, informing the style of art that she’d eventually come to create.
Layered, textured, and color-blocked in neon, Ibarra’s work pours over the edges of its “embellished linoleum prints” definition and falls somewhere in the sweet spot between realistic still life and day-tripper dreamy.
CommonCreativ talked to Ibarra about what initially inspired her artistic frolics in florets, the message she wants to convey through her art, and pushing herself artistically.
CommonCreativ: When did you first know you wanted to be an artist?
Gabriela Ibarra: In college, I was originally a science major actually, even though I’d loved painting in high school. I took a class in the fine art department called Art for Non-Majors that was a healthy mix of drawing and painting. I guess I felt more at home in the studio than in any of my other classes so I eventually switched permanently. I’ve taken breaks from painting throughout the years but never for too long, never completely.
CC: How did you develop your personal style?
GI: I think my personal style comes from layering. Layers of collage, paper, text, paint, and drawing. I like to build up the texture. The colors I choose are also important for my style since each painting is ultimately a puzzle of composition and color.
CC: What inspires your work?
GI: I’m inspired by music, by the energy I can get from listening to the perfect track (depending on my mood of course) and lyrics. I relate to the poetic honesty of words in a song and I appropriate a lot of them as background texture or titles. I’m also really inspired when I discover art that makes me laugh or think. Good music and clever art have the same powerful effect on me.
The artist
CC: Can you tell us about your process?
GI: I typically start with layers of magazine collage and tissue paper which can add texture and depth to the final piece, even if it gets mostly painted over. Then I collect flower images from the web and sketch them on the canvas. My favorite part of the process is the actual painting; it’s the best when the flowers seem to almost paint themselves. One painting typically has a little collage, vine charcoal, acrylic and latex paint, and then conté crayon or oil pastel on top for contrast.
CC: Have you always mixed different media in your artwork?
GI: I’ve recently been painting a few pieces without the mixed media actually, they’re straight-up acrylic on canvas. Maybe since I’ve been working with flowers for so long I’m finally confident with the skill of their execution — I’m able to just paint them and let them hold their own. But I’ve been layering with other media for as long as I can remember; this is a new departure for me.
CC: What message do you hope your work conveys?
GI: A strong sense of the feminine and the feminist. New for 2017, I want these flowers to be tough!
CC: What project or piece are you most proud of creating?
GI: I work with stop-motion and time-lapse video sometimes, which is really rewarding and fun when it all comes together smoothly. I like to start a video with a blank piece of paper or canvas and let the viewer (err…my Instagram followers) see how a painting starts and finishes — all the mistakes and happy accidents on display too.
CC: What do you think of Atlanta’s creative scene right now and where it’s headed?
GI: I’m so proud of how Atlanta has grown and changed to embrace and prioritize art. The mural conferences that have organized to cover the previously empty walls of the city are exciting, as is the BeltLine, Flux projects, and all the efforts being made to blanket the metro area with public art. I went to an amazing Bent Frequency sound performance which was part of ElevateATL downtown last fall; 100 percussionists performing in the basement of an empty parking garage! There are definitely so many more opportunities for creative expression than there were when I first moved here over 20 years ago.
CC: What projects do you have coming up next?
GI: I’m working on a couple of large commissions at the moment, and want to breathe some new life into my linoleum prints because I miss printing. But my main objective for the near future is to put more of a message in my work. It might just be there for my own benefit, but in a small way, I’d love to believe that the work I do has a positive effect on the world. Good things to come!
You can see more of Gabriela’s work on her site, Facebook and Instagram.
