Mark Gibson
Reinvention
Montana-based oil painter Mark Gibson has a style and a subject matter he’s been painting for years—his scenes of glowing Native American teepees contrasted against dark foregrounds and often stormy skies are unmistakable. The artist uses layer upon layer of glazes to achieve the signature effect of his teepees, which look as though a crackling fire is blazing comfortably in its interior. “I think it’s just that warm, cozy, homey feeling that you get… Darker darks and lighter lights is generally what you want to do around your focal area. But making those teepee poles very dark and the scene outside darker, all of a sudden [the teepee] will start to look like it glows,” Gibson says of his process.
Lately, however, the artist has been experimenting with a new method. He explains that his late father, who died when Gibson was 4, was a hobbyist photographer who took black-and-white photos and painted them with a semi-transparent paint that gave them a very unique look. “So it got me thinking, ‘what if I painted a tonal painting in black and white, got it all the way dry and then glazed it like I do on these teepee paintings?’” says Gibson. He then takes the painting in its tonal form and adds a simple wash of color so the black and white elements still remain the most prominent elements in the piece. The result is an almost Warhol vibe, Gibson says he’s been told. “They’re fun and they look pretty contemporary,” he adds. “After so many years of doing this, you have to reinvent yourself once in a while. My next step is try to get them to look lit up.”
One example of this new artistic exploration is Red Butte, which will be on view in Gibson’s upcoming solo exhibition at Mountain Trails Gallery in Park City, Utah. Many of Gibson’s signature oils of teepees and Western landscapes will be on view as well. The exhibition runs February 26 to March 4 with an artist reception on February 28 from 4 to 7 p.m.