Kaliopy: What influenced you to become a landscape artist?
Patricia: Basically my art is about discovery and wonder. I think it was Marcel Proust who said: 'The true voyage of discovery is not so much in seeking new
landscapes as in having new eyes'. That pretty much defines why I express myself in this subject. My landscapes allow me to explore the boundaries of
realism.
I paint my landscapes void of humans with a focus on atmosphere.
btw. Did you know that the word landscape comes from the Dutch word 'landschap'?
Kaliopy: Your works are far from traditional, as realistic the elements are, you somehow create an alienating like atmosphere, can you tell us what your aim is
or thoughts whilst your in the creative process?
Patricia: I don't put a pre-determined meaning in my art and like to offer a 'door' to the imagination of the viewer. In that sense I consider myself more a
scenery designer than a storyteller.
Funny enough I get a lot of my ideas when my mind is sort of idling, like when I'm staring in the falling drops of a shower or travelling long and empty roads.
Kaliopy: What is your most favourable mediums and materials you prefer to work with?
Patricia: Slow drying oil paints are my favourite medium. They suit my work flow very well. Each painting is a result of a carefully planned process. I start
sketching small and gradually enlarge my initial doodle to a full size pencil drawing on canvas. Next I build up the oil painting in layers of semi-transparent
paint in a so called “glazing” technique. This gives a brilliance and intensity that few other mediums can match. Softness is another important characteristic I
like about working with oils. Due to the paint remaining workable for so long, I can soften edges and create infinitely smooth gradients.
Kaliopy: You have such detail in your work, (depending on the scale of work), how long does it take to create?
Patricia: Because my oil paint has to dry in between layers, I usually work on 3-4 paintings simultaneously. Subsequently each work can take a couple of
months from start to finish. Time is quite an important factor in the creation of my work. When a painting is drying and not on my easel, it allows me to step
back and see the work in different ways. Often I make a lot of subtle changes in the 'resting' stage of a painting.
Kaliopy: Are you working on a new theme, if so, what can we expect to see?
Patricia: Since last year I am a very keen gardener and every time I'm digging around in my veggie patch, I discover the most amazing creatures on my plants.
This made me realise the world is such a different place from an insect's perspective. I'm capturing these landscapes I my new work which will feature
insects in natural forms but balancing one the edges of reality.
Kaliopy: What gave you the strength (and or reasoning) to finally give up book-keeping and pursue your passion full-time?
Patricia: n retrospect I wonder what gave me the strength to get up every morning and drag myself to one of those anonymous office buildings to spend my
day bored to my teeth. When I stopped book keeping, I started living.
Kaliopy: Not all of us have seen some of these realistic yet unusual elements that are created in your work, can you tell us a bit of where these images or ideas
come from?
Patricia: The 'actors' in my landscapes are usually relatively unknown natural phenomena. For example “Populus flucta” is based on the nesting habits of the
African sociable weaver birds. These weavers create the most amazing and intricate nest structures on top of long objects like telephone posts.
By placing these natural forms in a strict geometric pattern, I'm hoping to create a sense of wonder.
Patricia Van Lubeck
In such a short time, Patricia Van Lubeck has quickly become a leading neo-surreal artist. Born in Amsterdam in 1965, Patricia’s life has quite recently
changed dramatically. She used to be book-keeper until 2000 when she started the 21st century by becoming a fulltime professional artist. She moved to the
Bay of Plenty in New Zealand in 2005. Since then her work has taken a new direction.
Although her style is often regarded as surreal, her work does not strictly fall in that category. Her paintings are apparently simple in composition but executed
amazingly detailed and visually very dynamic. Her paintings have realistic elements, but above all an alienating atmosphere. Her works in recent years show
landscapes and weird plant species which she calls her ‘psychedelic gardens’.
‘I consider my work an exploration of the ways we experience our environment. My inspiration comes from the ordinary world around me. It’s the artist in
me that puts things in an unusual perspective. Compare it to a baker looking at a corn field. He sees bread, cookies and pies, I see shapes, patterns and colors.
I often zoom in on an everyday object and imagine a landscape. I must have been an insect in a previous life!’
Remarkably, Patricia is a self-taught and self-starting artist. She sets a high benchmark for all her works and seeks to achieve a high level of craftsmanship. It
takes her up to eight hours just to prepare the surface on some canvases. Then she oils up to 10 layers to achieve rich colors and a smooth finish.
‘I am always trying to achieve high contrast within an unlimited colour range. I love working with geometric patterns. Before I started painting on canvas, my
cars had always been willing victims to this passion. Consequently patterns, natural or artificial, form the foundation of a lot of my images.’
Due to her time-consuming technique Patricia is only able to create about 10 paintings a year. She loves painting at night in her rural studio setting with no
distractions, just the call of the ruru (a New Zealand native owl) to keep her company. Patricia thrives on the repetitiveness of her patterns. She feels the
calming aura in concentrating with a small brush in her ‘psychedelic garden’.
Since 2002, Patricia has exhibited in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
She was a finalist in the 2006 James Wallace Art Awards. She was runner-up in the 2006 Tivoli Audio PAL Case design contest in the Netherlands. She
reached the finals of the 2007 NZ Painting and Printmaking Award and her painting was choosen as the public’s favourite. Two of her paintings featured in
the 2008 Artfind calendar. And her work has been published in art books and magazines
Exhibitions:
2002 Galerie Kanaalweg, Heiloo, The Netherlands
2003 Galerie Collect-art, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
2003 Artiade, Alkmaar, The Netherlands
2004 ‘Week van de Zee’, Egmond, The Netherlands
2004 Galerie Afterdaan, Hoogeveen, The Netherlands
2005 Kasteel de Hooge Vuursche, The Netherlands
2005 Necura expo, Basel, Switzerland
2005 Fisher Fine Arts, Auckland, New Zealand
2006 Pataka Museum, Wellington, New Zealand
2006 The Artists Room, Dunedin, New Zealand
2007 Artspost gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand
2007 Koru gallery, Hong Kong
2007 Gallery O, Perth, Australia
2008 McGee's gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2008 Dreamscapes exhibition Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2009 Art Melbourne, art fair, Australia
2009 McGee’s gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Publications:
2007 'Dromen door Nederland’, a book published in The Netherlands with contributions of contemporary Dutch poets, writers, illustrators and musicians.
2007 CD cover for Metaphor, a San Fransisco rock band.
2007 and 2008 ‘Dreamscapes‘, a series of books about imaginary realism.
2008 May issue of South Korean art magazine ‘Public Art’. My work was featured in an editorial about magic realism.
2008 Artfind calender, ‘Best of NZ art’ featuring 2 of my works.
2008 Galactik Trading Cards, a publication dedicated to the ‘visionary arts’.
2008 iGoogle theme, I created an interactive graphic environment for the search engine user interface.
2009 CD cover for 'The Cunning Linguists', a Los Angeles rap group.
2009 My work and biography are featured in the ‘Lexicon der Phantastischen kunstler’, an art encyclopedia in German language.
2003-2009 Many of my works have been used as illustrations in a range of magazines.
Patricia: Basically my art is about discovery and wonder. I think it was Marcel Proust who said: 'The true voyage of discovery is not so much in seeking new
landscapes as in having new eyes'. That pretty much defines why I express myself in this subject. My landscapes allow me to explore the boundaries of
realism.
I paint my landscapes void of humans with a focus on atmosphere.
btw. Did you know that the word landscape comes from the Dutch word 'landschap'?
Kaliopy: Your works are far from traditional, as realistic the elements are, you somehow create an alienating like atmosphere, can you tell us what your aim is
or thoughts whilst your in the creative process?
Patricia: I don't put a pre-determined meaning in my art and like to offer a 'door' to the imagination of the viewer. In that sense I consider myself more a
scenery designer than a storyteller.
Funny enough I get a lot of my ideas when my mind is sort of idling, like when I'm staring in the falling drops of a shower or travelling long and empty roads.
Kaliopy: What is your most favourable mediums and materials you prefer to work with?
Patricia: Slow drying oil paints are my favourite medium. They suit my work flow very well. Each painting is a result of a carefully planned process. I start
sketching small and gradually enlarge my initial doodle to a full size pencil drawing on canvas. Next I build up the oil painting in layers of semi-transparent
paint in a so called “glazing” technique. This gives a brilliance and intensity that few other mediums can match. Softness is another important characteristic I
like about working with oils. Due to the paint remaining workable for so long, I can soften edges and create infinitely smooth gradients.
Kaliopy: You have such detail in your work, (depending on the scale of work), how long does it take to create?
Patricia: Because my oil paint has to dry in between layers, I usually work on 3-4 paintings simultaneously. Subsequently each work can take a couple of
months from start to finish. Time is quite an important factor in the creation of my work. When a painting is drying and not on my easel, it allows me to step
back and see the work in different ways. Often I make a lot of subtle changes in the 'resting' stage of a painting.
Kaliopy: Are you working on a new theme, if so, what can we expect to see?
Patricia: Since last year I am a very keen gardener and every time I'm digging around in my veggie patch, I discover the most amazing creatures on my plants.
This made me realise the world is such a different place from an insect's perspective. I'm capturing these landscapes I my new work which will feature
insects in natural forms but balancing one the edges of reality.
Kaliopy: What gave you the strength (and or reasoning) to finally give up book-keeping and pursue your passion full-time?
Patricia: n retrospect I wonder what gave me the strength to get up every morning and drag myself to one of those anonymous office buildings to spend my
day bored to my teeth. When I stopped book keeping, I started living.
Kaliopy: Not all of us have seen some of these realistic yet unusual elements that are created in your work, can you tell us a bit of where these images or ideas
come from?
Patricia: The 'actors' in my landscapes are usually relatively unknown natural phenomena. For example “Populus flucta” is based on the nesting habits of the
African sociable weaver birds. These weavers create the most amazing and intricate nest structures on top of long objects like telephone posts.
By placing these natural forms in a strict geometric pattern, I'm hoping to create a sense of wonder.
Patricia Van Lubeck
In such a short time, Patricia Van Lubeck has quickly become a leading neo-surreal artist. Born in Amsterdam in 1965, Patricia’s life has quite recently
changed dramatically. She used to be book-keeper until 2000 when she started the 21st century by becoming a fulltime professional artist. She moved to the
Bay of Plenty in New Zealand in 2005. Since then her work has taken a new direction.
Although her style is often regarded as surreal, her work does not strictly fall in that category. Her paintings are apparently simple in composition but executed
amazingly detailed and visually very dynamic. Her paintings have realistic elements, but above all an alienating atmosphere. Her works in recent years show
landscapes and weird plant species which she calls her ‘psychedelic gardens’.
‘I consider my work an exploration of the ways we experience our environment. My inspiration comes from the ordinary world around me. It’s the artist in
me that puts things in an unusual perspective. Compare it to a baker looking at a corn field. He sees bread, cookies and pies, I see shapes, patterns and colors.
I often zoom in on an everyday object and imagine a landscape. I must have been an insect in a previous life!’
Remarkably, Patricia is a self-taught and self-starting artist. She sets a high benchmark for all her works and seeks to achieve a high level of craftsmanship. It
takes her up to eight hours just to prepare the surface on some canvases. Then she oils up to 10 layers to achieve rich colors and a smooth finish.
‘I am always trying to achieve high contrast within an unlimited colour range. I love working with geometric patterns. Before I started painting on canvas, my
cars had always been willing victims to this passion. Consequently patterns, natural or artificial, form the foundation of a lot of my images.’
Due to her time-consuming technique Patricia is only able to create about 10 paintings a year. She loves painting at night in her rural studio setting with no
distractions, just the call of the ruru (a New Zealand native owl) to keep her company. Patricia thrives on the repetitiveness of her patterns. She feels the
calming aura in concentrating with a small brush in her ‘psychedelic garden’.
Since 2002, Patricia has exhibited in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
She was a finalist in the 2006 James Wallace Art Awards. She was runner-up in the 2006 Tivoli Audio PAL Case design contest in the Netherlands. She
reached the finals of the 2007 NZ Painting and Printmaking Award and her painting was choosen as the public’s favourite. Two of her paintings featured in
the 2008 Artfind calendar. And her work has been published in art books and magazines
Exhibitions:
2002 Galerie Kanaalweg, Heiloo, The Netherlands
2003 Galerie Collect-art, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
2003 Artiade, Alkmaar, The Netherlands
2004 ‘Week van de Zee’, Egmond, The Netherlands
2004 Galerie Afterdaan, Hoogeveen, The Netherlands
2005 Kasteel de Hooge Vuursche, The Netherlands
2005 Necura expo, Basel, Switzerland
2005 Fisher Fine Arts, Auckland, New Zealand
2006 Pataka Museum, Wellington, New Zealand
2006 The Artists Room, Dunedin, New Zealand
2007 Artspost gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand
2007 Koru gallery, Hong Kong
2007 Gallery O, Perth, Australia
2008 McGee's gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2008 Dreamscapes exhibition Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2009 Art Melbourne, art fair, Australia
2009 McGee’s gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Publications:
2007 'Dromen door Nederland’, a book published in The Netherlands with contributions of contemporary Dutch poets, writers, illustrators and musicians.
2007 CD cover for Metaphor, a San Fransisco rock band.
2007 and 2008 ‘Dreamscapes‘, a series of books about imaginary realism.
2008 May issue of South Korean art magazine ‘Public Art’. My work was featured in an editorial about magic realism.
2008 Artfind calender, ‘Best of NZ art’ featuring 2 of my works.
2008 Galactik Trading Cards, a publication dedicated to the ‘visionary arts’.
2008 iGoogle theme, I created an interactive graphic environment for the search engine user interface.
2009 CD cover for 'The Cunning Linguists', a Los Angeles rap group.
2009 My work and biography are featured in the ‘Lexicon der Phantastischen kunstler’, an art encyclopedia in German language.
2003-2009 Many of my works have been used as illustrations in a range of magazines.
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| The New York Optimist |
| Kaliopy Interviews lAND sCAPE aRTIST Patricia Van Lubeck |
