Pamela Grabber, born and raised in Connecticut, completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Connecticut in 1986. After raising a family with her husband, John, she became a working artist in 2017. Receiving instruction and inspiration from Jan Norsetter, Bethann Moran-Handzlik, Mark Boedges, Lori Putnam, Kathie Odom, and Haidee-Jo Summers furthered her skills and passion for painting. Participating in local art tours and plein air festivals, she has won several awards, and she considers her direct contact with art lovers, artists, and collectors to be a grand award in its own right. Travels near and far provide her with endless opportunitites to paint from direct observation outdoors and when it's cold outside she paints in her cozy Mazomanie, Wisconsin home studio.
Statement
Painting requires an engagement of everything within me, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. When I paint, I'm responding to the subject before me in real time, whether outdoors or in the studio, as I prefer to work in the gift of natural light.
Inspired by curiosity or compassion, mystery or adventure, I often begin the work with a value sketch and a chosen word which captures an emotion or sense of my surroundings. Working with water mixable oils, I paint a word such as "settled", "love", or "quiet" on my blank panel and then begin from that place of connection, moving into the process with increasing courage. Employing a system of layers, I start with a watery underpainting to establish the composition and values in a monochromatic format. Using a modified prismatic palette, I mix tubed colors as I see them in the landscape or still life and add the next layer of paint, and frequently scratch my signature in the paint with a pointed tool.
My practice is divided between the seasons of "warm enough to go outside" and "stay inside otherwise the paints will freeze". My outside painting is mostly done in the plein air style, and mainly in one session. Since I live in the distinctly bucolic, four season Driftless Area of WI, inspiration is all around me. I delight to paint often in my immediate neighborhood. From spring to autumn, I enjoy participating in plein air festivals locally. When I travel for vacations, I take my paint kit with me and paint on location. I love how painting new locations creates a deep connection with places I've visited. My inside painting is more meditative and methodical, working over days or weeks on one painting employing a technique known as "grisaille". Since this method requires several days of drying time between layers, I find my Wisconsin winter experience suits this slower paced practice very well.
When a collector decides to add my work to their collection, I'm often delighted to learn of how the painting has resonated with them. I'm amazed by a painting's power to create a connection with people, fostering new friendships or transformational conversations. Creativity begets creativity! These rewarding experiences make the wholehearted engagement of the painting life a meaningful endeavor for me.