Bobette Stanbridge
Why pursue a career in the Visual Arts?
Attended the LA Art Center College of Design that is now in Pasadena where majored in illustration in 1970 and produced hundreds of graphic and fine art works over a life time. One of the favorite projects was to design a theme and color specs for the Ventura Harbor Village in Ventura California.
When did you make that important decision?
In the 70's was hired by a company to create a cast of characters and put them in illustrations with sayings. They were then produced in silkscreened format on quilts, pillows, totebags, shoe bags, and t-shirts and sold Nationally in all the best department stores.
Artist Statement
It's the ability to create the unknown that makes art, art. And yet people only want to recognize your work and the only way they can do that is to make it redundant. I'm looking forward to the day when an artist can be appreciated for the many types of art styles they create. After all, artists tend to want to think outside the box.
In 2012 She began her American Culture series in the 20th centuries by decades. To date she has painted through the 50's. Bobette's art has also been influenced by her association with the late Supergraphic artist Ron Gainor from Los Angeles where she learned that art.
During her art career she had her own graphic art company where she created corporate identity for logos, stationary, signs and murals. Her heart has always been a fine artist so there have been several art series produced in several genres. She has worked with most types of paint, vinyl, gold leaf, pencils, ink, paper mache, linocut prints, cardboard, plexi-glass and sand blasted wood signs. Her work includes illustration, portraits, landscapes, still life, fantasy, abstract, realism and surrealism.
What inspires you the most?
America has culture and we as Americans created many wonderful inventions, works of art, structures, and made great changes in the history of mankind. These paintings were done on Masonite panels measuring 4' x 6' with oils. They are montages of all that we were and were painted as exact as possible to replicate what was in that time frame. This is not a collage. A collage consists of many pieces of objects such as paper, photos, images and other materials that are glued together into one picture. A montage is a painting of several different images painted together to create one image. Many people see these originals and think they are glued pieces together.....they are painted. Each painting has taken 4 to 5 months to create.
Your specialties?
Creating Art is the ability to conjure something that hasn't been experienced before. For me, it comes in many types of media and styles. I love experimenting and have been a sign and super graphic artist, muralist, public artist, author, illustrator, graphic artist, painter, theme designer, wood cuts and sculptor. I have painted fantasy, realism, surrealism, abstract and portraits. I use all types of paint, pen and Ink, pencil and colored pencil and airbrush for my images. It might be hard to recognize my art but then my life has always been other than normal.
