Pennsylvania Snowfall on Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve to everyone!  I hope your preparations for this holiday season are wrapping up…and you are busy enjoying the stillness and peace of this Christmas.

As for me, I’m enjoying the beauty of a fresh snowfall in Pennsylvania–this first white Christmas in years.  Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas morning tomorrow!

Below, Ethereal displayed until the February benefit show in my dining room…

Ethereal, oil on canvas , 36" by 48", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

No excuses here–just dreaming of Paris.  I hope you’ll come along with me.

Find more images at Creature Comforts Blog.

During the process of my recent paintings, I have been updating my blog through means of my own photographs; now, I am happy to share with you more professionally photographed versions of my pieces.  Many thanks to photographer Joe Hindman.  Below you’ll see the finished, beautifully photographed paintings I have been working on this month.

Most exciting, I finished up Paper Lanterns at last!

Paper Lanterns, oil on canvas, 30" by 40", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Paper Lanterns (detail), oil on canvas, 30" by 40", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

This was an enjoyable piece to work on–I loved exploring all the different effects that the light made on the figures, and researching how painters really made a light source glow from within.  Two paintings that inspired me throughout the process were Sargent’s Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, a gorgeous twilight painting of two little girls in a garden, and The Lantern-Bearers by Maxfield Parrish.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, by John Singer Sargent

The Lantern-Bearers, by Maxfield Parrish

Also, a beautifully photographed Southampton, a creative portrayal of Jane Austen at her countryside home in Southampton, England:

Southampton, oil on canvas, 36" by 60", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Southampton (detail), oil on canvas, 36" by 60", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Also photographed was Red Satin, and more detail shots of that:

Red Satin, oil on canvas, 24" by 36", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Red Satin (detail), oil on canvas, 24" by 36", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

And last but not least, a painting meant to capture the spiritual, perfect beauty of a fresh snowfall in winter, with the light of dusk beginning to cast long blue shadows over the snow.  Titled Ethereal, this piece was also recently finished and photographed:

Ethereal, oil on canvas, 36" by 48", copyright Jessica Libor 2009

I was delighted by the definitions I found for the word Ethereal…

I love photography, though my art form is painting…still, I can’t help but be simply enchanted by these images I’ve recently come across. Magical, ethereal, lovely, shimmering with beauty.  I love the lighting, romance and fragment of a moment captured.  All images but one are from Anthropologie November.

Check out this photographer’s work, galaxeandrews.

All this month, I have been working feverishly on many different paintings in many stages.  Below, you’ll see some of what I have been working on, particularly this past week.  First, finishing up Red Satin by detailing the hair…

Red Satin, detail, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Also, beginning a commission painting called Cherokee Autumn, in its first stages…

Cherokee Autumn, first step

And last but not least, beginning a painting I am VERY excited about.  I’m stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit on this one–trying a more modern subject, still portrayed in a traditional way.  It’s a snapshot of a moment…I was walking along the main faire in Edinboro, Scotland, with hundreds of actors and mimes and performers handing me invitations to thier shows.  This girl, dressed as a mime, had placed herself in the perfect position for a good composition–white clothing, red, red lips, bright red fan, and fascinating background covered in posters.  I’m very excited to see where this one goes.

Mime, step 1, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Mime, step 2, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

Paper Lanterns, copyright Jessica Libor 2009, unfinished.

Paper Lanterns (detail), copyright Jessica Libor 2009, unfinished

Paper Lanterns as a painting has come a long way since I last posted an update on it–and while it is not quite finished, I wanted to share the progress.  Stay posted for more updates!

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths, 
Enwrought with golden and silver light, 
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths 
Of night and light and the half light, 
I would spread the cloths under your feet: 
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; 
I have spread my dreams under your feet; 
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Aedh Wishes for the Clothes of Heaven 
by William Butler Yeats

Sargent (Detail)

 In between painting, I have been studying Sargent and Rembrant, specifically in the ways that they model the human face, and the way that they handle lighting.   I hope you enjoy these pieces as much as I did in learning from them.

Sargent

Sargent

Sargent

Sargent

Sargent

Sargent

Rembrandt

Rembrandt

Sargent

I am excited to share with you a recent article/profile done on my art in skirt! magazine.  I’m honored to be a part of this inspiring magazine, and hope to be a part of the inspiration for the women who read it!  Look for the December issue of skirt! magazine in Greenville, Charlotte, Charleston, and Savannah, among the 16 cities where they are published.  In the Greenville edition, look on page 20 to see the profile under “Muses”, and also on page 31 to see a feature of my handmade cards, number one on the “We Love” page.  To see the online versions, click here for the profile and here for the feature on the cards.  A special thanks to Sheril Turner and John Fowler.  Below, the material published.

Jessica Libor in her studio-December artist spotlight, photo by John Fowler

From cave diving in Mexico to exploring the ruins of a huge ancient abbey in Scotland, what could make Jessica’s heart beat faster? “I entered a talent show one time,” she says. “It took me three cups of coffee to get psyched up to sing.” For this fine artist, though, her adventurous life feeds her romantic soul. “I paint in oil—portraits by commission and scenery that I find beautiful. Often these places and people are from the cities that I have traveled to. I am also inspired by art museums, receiving instruction from a master painter, having a painting turn out the way I envisioned it, music of all kinds, fashion, streetlights in the fog, a deadline, viewers liking my work, going for a long run, brainstorming, and people that believe in me.”

We Love #1, handmade greeting cards by Jessica Libor

“In addition to her glorious paintings, Greenville artist Jessica Libor creates these hand inked and embellished ethereal greeting cards that are almost too pretty to mail off. Find yours at etsy.com/shop/jessicalibor.”

Titania Handmade Greeting Card

First Fridays December Edition-at Doug Young's Studio

Last night was December First Fridays, when all the studios and galleries of Greenville open their doors and show off the creativity they hold inside.  This particular month, the shows were spectacular!  I met and viewed work of several new artists, and was incredibly inspired by the people I met and the quality of work I saw.

The Art Bomb

What I love about the Art Bomb, beyond the quality of the work the artists produce, is the uniqueness of the building.  It’s a huge, many-roomed old building downtown, decorated in a random but very stylish way.  I love it.  Notice the disco ball.  Even the mounted beast on the wall is in the Christmas spirit!

The Art Bomb

Adorable sculpture pieces--little eggs that look full of treasure

At the Art Bomb--reminds me of Poe's "The Raven"

Love the size and elegant subject matter of this one

I thought I’d share this snapshot of another part of tradition here in Greenville, that I enjoyed last night–the Lighting Ceremony at BJU, where thousands upon thousands of lights are lit after Christmas carols are sung.  To me, it was just as beautiful (if not more so) than any piece of art I saw that evening.

After the Lighting Ceremony--just as pretty as a painting

Next up will be recent pictures of my paintings–much progress has been made, and I can’t wait to share it with you.  Wishing each of you a beautiful weekend!