“I’m a champion of colour and exuberance. I want the joy and pleasure I have making my works to go with them. An unexpected pop, a wow moment on an ordinary day.” 

And in this Podcast episode, we asked her everything about how she created her own opportunities and build a successful art career.

So before you start listening to this podcast episode, let me share with you some of the insights of the episode. So keep on reading to know what you will learn from this podcast episode.

In conversation with Celine Gabrielle

How do you keep yourself motivated and who influenced you to become an artist?

As a child of the 80’s/90 not only was I influenced by the bold in-your-face neon colors, big shoulder pads, and modern technology takeover, but I was also greatly influenced by both my baby boomer parents and my grandparents.

I’m very inspired by pop culture, fashion, style, design, and architecture across many generations as far back as the 1920s art deco and flapper girls right through to the 2000’s mega stars like Lady Gaga and the haute couture trends of today.

As a self-taught artist I’m influenced by the well-known artists I had access to, many popularized in pop culture like Tamara de Lempicka, Rene Magritte, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso. 

I was wondering if you could tell me about the creative process that goes into your artwork and how you come up with such novel and interesting concepts.

I start with an image or a piece of clothing that inspires me. It has to speak to me. I’m slow. I work in many layers. I start with acrylic to block in main colors and shapes quickly. Then I switch to oils. I take my time carefully studying my references and refining them section by section. 

I love that my paintings look realistic from far, but up close as I work it’s just abstract colours and shapes—like an illusion.

I noticed that a large percentage of your artwork revolves around clothing and accessories; could you explain this focus?

My work takes from my obsession with fashion and that the clothes we wear are how we tell the world who we are, or maybe who we aspire to be.  

Sometimes it speaks our culture and can connect us to a place or time in history. Sometimes it blurs the lines of all that. It always tells a story.

For twenty years, you raked in a handsome salary as a statistician and you didn’t begin your career in the arts until you were forty. How challenging was it for you to make the transition at age 40 from a secure, successful career to the complete opposite?

I choose to create because it’s fun, challenges me, and gives me energy. I’m a champion of color and exuberance. I want the joy and pleasure I have in making my work go with them. Like coming home to a bouquet of wildflowers on the kitchen table­—an unexpected pop, a wow moment on an ordinary day.

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