American, b. 1949, Oakland, California
Lives and works in Saint Paul, Minnesota
gaylecolepainting.com

For the most part, I have lived in the Midwest (Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota), but also for shorter periods, in the Northeast (New York and Maine), and even for a brief time, in the South (the Mississippi Gulf Coast). Even as I worked in various jobs to pay the bills, painting has been an ongoing continuum, and I've tried to keep a modest exhibition record throughout my moves. Since 2004, I’ve lived in St. Paul, MN.

My work has gone through different stylistic phases over a long period of time. It has strong origins in abstraction and formal concerns, even at times when representation became a major factor in the imagery, as in the most recent body of work.

Still Life Paintings

In this current work, still life objects have emerged as the main subject matter within the compositions. THese objects are drawn from a personal collection of handmade pottery, as well as household objects. While they present a challenge for me in the rendering of form – a likeness, so to speak – the space surrounding the objects presents the opportunity for abstract invention. Abstraction and improvisation are incorporated into the image as a whole. Color is especially important in this process, as I play with the three-dimensionality of the objects and the flatness of pictorial space.

Segmented Squares

An earlier series of work called “Segmented Squares” involved abstraction and color in a more discernible way. In these pieces, the picture surface was covered with small, faceted divisions of color. I came to think of these color-facets as a metaphor for moments in time, and later, as expressing elements and moods in jazz music. This body of work evolved over several years with a concentrated emphasis and exploration of color relationships and interactions. “Still Life Paintings” and “Segmented Squares” are the two most recent series of work in my overall output. Over time, the work has evolved along different themes and subject matter. And yet, it also develops out of its own formal underpinnings, and always operates within the boundaries of the canvas and pictorial space. Both current work and the larger trajectory of my overall development are noted in the different sections of my website.