Oil painter Juliana Gamble feeds the flame of mystery

Oil painter Juliana Gamble learned from her boyfriend, a Harvard educated neuroscientist, that the human brain does not need all of the information in order to formulate a whole. In other words, provide it with some of the dots and it will connect the rest.

At an artist reception for her exhibit Color and Light, held at the Somerville Community Access Television studio on Saturday December 10, this sentiment was thoroughly echoed through each vibrant, yet simplistic work hanging from the wall.

All of the paintings are smaller than a square foot, a conscious effort of finishing in one session which she believes promotes focus. Her paintings of seemingly ordinary images, a wooded valley, a grapefruit, flower pot, or apple, were drawn out to illustrate a few key highlights and lowlights, allowing the beholder to connect the rest of the dots on his or her own. “You can tell this is a grapefruit, even though there are four tones pushed together,” Juliana explained.

In doing so, she has created a deceptively complex collection of images, which only become more detailed upon further inspection. Her interest is embedded in color and light. “One of the things I try to work on when painting is to find the true dark spots and true highlights. I want to make sure the contrast is there in a way that is pleasing to the eye.”

She focuses on the bigger notes of the painting, the framework of the story, believing that it is more exciting to say more by saying less. “It becomes dry and unexciting to paint every single stroke and stitch. It’s like reading a book as opposed to watching a movie, there’s a level of imagination to it; it allows your brain to determine what’s out there.”

She credits painting with training her eye to the natural beauty of everyday life. Whilst many artists become disinterested the more vested they are in what they are doing, she finds inspiration in her life. She explained that her grapefruit series was inspired by preparing a grapefruit salad. In a modern society where information seeps through every pore, an old soul can be refreshed by the fact that some still put faith in the saying “less is more.”

“It’s not as if I couldn’t paint all the details if I really wanted to, but part of me doesn’t really want to. I’m just not as interested in all of the details.”