Libby Mathews
This article originally appeared in the September 2003 issue of Rabun's Laurel. It has been reprinted with permission.
From Tiger to Tuscany, Libby Mathews can be seen painting in a field, beside a road, on a boat, or in her studio. Her inspiration comes from the world she sees at dawn and at dusk, a time of day when light dances the perfect dance.
Libby's childhood began in Columbia, SC where her talent showed as a young child. Artistic Expression was a given for Libby as she was a dancer with the Mary Staton Dance Ensemble and educated at Georgia State University, University of Georgia, and University of South Carolina in Arts. She taught printmaking at Valdosta State University as part of the Governor's Honors Program.
Travels to Italy and living in her rustic mountain lake hamlet have given Libby the guiding force to develop her landscape ovum that she remembers from first grade. "I would draw on Manila paper, coloring the sky and the ground area, leaving spaces for clouds sun and trees. I never added people," she said.
A noble little out building in Tuscany, beautiful boats on the diagonal, sun hitting the tops of olive trees, rows of cypress and their shadows - these were Libby's inspirations.
In her compositions, Libby uses a low or high horizon perspective. "The discussion of how I see the landscape and how I feel about it begins when I apply the pigment." Libby chooses oil paints for their vibrance and richness.
She is a mark maker and knows that enthusiastic yet sensitive strokes of color, value and intensity will give her paintings life. The energy of the layers and textures on and between the marks exite the eye - visual poetry.
The love of landscapes has taken her to not only Italy, but also to Wyoming, California, and Central America to paint the land and capture the qualities of light and shadow. Rabun County is her home and she is blessed to be able to translate her vision of nature on to canvas. Here she can capture the fleeting moment when earth, air, and water glow.
Libby's work has been recognized and honored at exhibits throughout the southeast and is included in many important collections.