Michael Laybourn

artistname

Easy—to know
That diamonds—are precious
Good—to learn
That—rubies have depth
But more—to see
That pebbles—are miraculous
—Josef Albers

At Arizona State University, I began to study color using principles of the newly published hand silkscreened book, Interaction Of Color, by Josef Albers. Which was a work of art itself. I learned that color was always different, depending on the colors around it and that color could visually dance because of this concept.
After earning my BFA degree in painting and sculpture, I spent many years not directly connected to art, although continuing to design classrooms and playgrounds in the Bay Area. Moving to Mendocino County, I helped design and build Mariposa school and taught there for four years.
I was one of the founders of the Hopland Brewery, where I used the Albers teachings to design many beer labels, using various artists for the labels. I still consider California’s first brewpub, the Hopland Brewery, a sculpture.
In 2000, I retired from business and began painting again. I was fortunate to be able to paint with Ray Voisard, on painting trips around Northern California, learning plein aire painting and how to try to express a scene with light.
I then met a painter, Camille Przwodek, whose paintings were full of lush color. I took a workshop from her, and she opened my mind to Monet (again) and Henry Hensche. The workshop taught me how shapes are determined by color interaction in a scene, along with the influence of light and the time of day. This visual language of color pushed me in my present direction.
As Hensche quoted Cezanne: “Every form change is a color change”.
The Northern California landscape is filled with such beauty. My paintings are an attempt to express these forces of nature, which often show us that we must be very careful with the natural beauty given us.
Michael Laybourn

 

Please contact the artist for more information or to purchase a painting. email, 707.744.1047

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SONOMA COUNTY HOP KILN
Acrylic/canvas 18 X 24 $300
RIVER ROAD BARN
Oil on canvas on board 9X12 $350
REDWOOD VALLEY POND
Oil on canvas on board 12X16 $400
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RISTRA 2
Acrylic on canvas 18 X 24 $600
MENDOCINO COAST
Oil on canvas on board 12X16 $350
RISTRA 1
Acrylic on canvas 18 X 24 $600
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HOPLAND POND
Oil on canvas on board 12X16 $400
CACHE CREEK
Oil on canvas on board 12X16 $400