In my short term as Arts Editor so far, I have already mentioned Faith Gabel’s paintings on a number of occasions. I first encountered her work at Boneyard Arts Festival, and I recently saw one of her newer pieces at Art Around the Block. Gabel paints truly beautiful modern florals that I often find myself returning to at shows, just to take in one more time. As part of my new series highlighting local artists, I recently corresponded with Gabel to learn more about her process, what draws her to florals, and more.
Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Smile Politely: Tell me a little bit about yourself. What’s your connection to Champaign-Urbana — are you originally from the area?
Faith Gabel: I actually was born in Danville — not too far away! I have a lot of family that still lives there and in the surrounding area. When I was a kid I moved around a lot, mostly in the South. I came back to the area when I was in high school and after college settled in Mahomet with my husband. We now have three kids and a dog (all girls!). I am actually a nurse by training and worked in Champaign for a long time doing that. I currently work from home now doing work in clinical research — and of course I paint! I started painting in 2016.
SP: Your florals are absolutely stunning; I went back to them several times at Boneyard this year. Have you always painted primarily florals?
Gabel: Thanks! I really did start with painting mostly florals and never looked back because I connect with it so much. I was drawn to that because I love being in nature and I find it inspiring, and also a bit because of Alice in Wonderland. When I was a kid, I literally watched that movie so much, I wore out the VHS tape we had of it. There is a song in that movie where flowers are singing, and they all have personalities. I always tend to see flowers like this now, and almost personify them in my mind. I do that with the flowers in my paintings too. Each piece is almost a little story to me. I have always been inspired by the old master’s dutch floral paintings too, so I started initially trying to emulate them, but I also love modern, bold, contemporary art as well. So those were things that really influenced me. Over the years, however, I do feel like I have found my own style by just experimenting. I try new variations of my style all the time so it does tend to evolve over time. I keep the bits I like and discard the things that don’t work.
SP: When you are starting a new piece or a new project, can you walk us through your process? Do you have a clear idea of how you want it to turn out before you begin, or is there a lot of experimentation or improvising along the way?
Gabel: When I start something new, I don’t always have a plan. Sometimes I see something I’m inspired by, but I usually just begin by using black to outline shapes and an overall composition. It kind of takes off from there, the black gives a nice contrast against the background. Most of the time though that is half the fun, finding out what the painting wants to be. I just play off of the marks I make as I go, and it kind of tells me what it needs. I use a lot of layers. The nice thing about how I paint is it’s not about being technical really. Its more about an impression of what the vision is for the painting, how I am feeling — it all gets put into the piece. It’s a lot like therapy for me vs. trying to make something really detailed or technically good.
SP: How was your experience at Boneyard? Have you participated in the past?
Gabel: I absolutely love Boneyard. There is a certain vibe about it — everyone is just so excited to share their work, and for a lot of people it is their first time showing their art in public. It was for me! I can’t remember which year I started, but I showed at Pekara Bakery when it was downtown and I was so nervous/excited but it really got me involved in the art scene. I was so afraid to show my work before this! Then in 2019 I was a part of the Rogards pop-up which was one of the first larger group shows. It was so fun! This year was the first year I participated since the pandemic started, and I was so energized and inspired. I had a lot of work there that I had done over that time but also some brand-new things.
SP: I noticed you had a lot of very large canvases displayed right next to small canvases — is there any connection between the two? Do you ever paint on a smaller canvas, and it inspires a larger piece or vis-versa?
Gabel: Sometimes I do work on multiple pieces at once, so yes. A lot of the time I am working on a larger piece and will use my leftover paint for some smaller paintings. They often are in a similar vein because I am working on them together.
SP: After I looked at your Instagram, I realized the chair in front of your art at Boneyard is actually your chair —is there any special significance to the chair?
Gabel: I really like to display my art so that people can imagine what it would look like in their home. The chair usually sits in my studio — my “thinking chair” is what I call it. Sometimes I get a bit stuck, or I need to decide where to go next and I just sit, stare, and think for a long time in it. I also really enjoy interior design, so I enjoy getting to create booth displays as well.
SP: What are you currently working on?
Gabel: I am currently working on some mixed media pieces. I love bold patterns and have been playing around with different ways to incorporate them into my work.
SP: What media do you prefer to work with? Is there a medium that you find frustrating?
Gabel: I love using heavy body acrylics, they are so easy to use and dry fast. Also acrylic ink is a favorite for more fluid applications. I have tried using oil paint — it takes way too long to dry, especially because I tend to paint thickly. I just can’t do it!
SP: What have been the most rewarding and most challenging projects you’ve completed to date?
Gabel: Most rewarding — I would say pulling everything together for Boneyard this year. I had taken a long break from showing work during Covid, and it was so great to get back to it and to see people actually enjoying my work in person. I had almost forgotten how much work it is though!
Most challenging — Commissions with specific requests. I have a really hard time with these. My process is very fluid and depends on how I feel in the moment, and a lot of randomness coming together to make it work. It’s hard when people want me to paint something in particular like a certain flower or something. I just really have to paint what I want to paint for it to turn out, or I get too much in my head about it and it feels too contrived. I’ve recently just decided I’m not going to take these on anymore — it just causes too much stress.
SP: What’s next for you?
Gabel: Hopefully a lot more art shows and new work!
You can check out Gabel’s work on her Instagram and Facebook, as well as on her website. She also currently has a piece at Art Around the Block, which will be on display through July 26th.
