The Open Doors Studio Tour is a self-guided 2-day event each spring that is free and open to the public.

Isabel Forbes

Painting

https://www.isabelforbes.com

I have been making art for as long as I can remember. As a young girl, I learned how to use a camera and actually printed my own black and white photographs. Today, I see how my experiences with photography has influenced how I see the world and create my art.  The subject of my…

1000 S. Pine St, Spartanburg, 29302

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About Isabel Forbes

I have been making art for as long as I can remember. As a young girl, I learned how to use a camera and actually printed my own black and white photographs. Today, I see how my experiences with photography has influenced how I see the world and create my art.  The subject of my paintings is not primarily buildings and these other objects, but rather the composition and contrasting elements of light and dark, complementary colors, and negative space.  While my work may be called representational or realistic, my approach is from a more abstract perspective.

The urban landscape is one of the subjects that inspires me. My paintings frequently include street lights, signage, telephone poles, and other seemingly plain elements of the city infrastructure. I also paint coastal landscapes and interiors with figures. I have painted the SC coast, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and many other wonderful places, but my approach is the same; the central theme is the contrast of light and dark and the negative space within the composition. These paintings are often images that might seem, on the surface, unremarkable and plain, such as someone eating at a restaurant counter or an old railroad bridge.

The most elemental beauty can be found in the most mundane of settings, often in plain sight. My paintings are my personal experiences. I hope that my work changes the viewers’ perceptions of their surroundings. When my collectors and friends become nostalgic about a piece or tell me how they notice old mill houses or diners they routinely pass by, I feel like my designs are brought to life and I have succeeded.