Gay Faulkenberry has been a force on the American art scene for more than two decades. Known for her impressionistic approach to color and light, she is renowned for plein-air paintings of urban and rural landscapes and for studio paintings of intimate still lifes, florals, and interiors.

 “Taking my pochade box outdoors into nature excites me as much as designing a still life arrangement or re-creating the ambience of a room setting. Whatever the subject, I’m inspired by the way light reveals form and essence,” Faulkenberry says. She takes equal pleasure in designing her environment, including the French Cottage-style home and flower gardens she shares with her husband Roger, and her vaulted studio/loft with its ironwork cabling and antique shutters.

A native Oklahoman, where she continues to live, Faulkenberry was raised throughout the West and has traveled extensively in Europe. Her grandmother and “best friend” was a painter and Francophile, who favored the French Impressionists and displayed Taos artists at a lodge she and her husband operated in Northern New Mexico. Luminous color made an imprint on Faulkenberry, who worked in watercolors from childhood through her studies at Southwestern State and Oklahoma State universities. Focused on detailed dry-brush renderings of homes with architectural ornamentation, she first encountered alla prima paintings on several trips to Taos in the late 1970s. Her transition to oils was facilitated by independent studies with Russian master Sergei Bongart. Subsequent workshops with Ray Vinella, Ned Jacob, and Mark Daily refined her skills. “I remain a student of art, always reaching for higher levels of excellence,” she says. “However, it is the artist’s job to discover his or her personal voice in creating a language that communicates beyond words.” 

For the past decade, Faulkenberry has been a popular instructor herself, conducting workshops throughout the United States and abroad.  As a mentor, she shares her insights and technical expertise in using the eyes, heart, head, and hand in translating the joy of life onto canvas. She also encourages her students to see and study art by past masters, including artists who have influenced her: the bravura brushwork of Nicolai Fechin and John Singer Sargent, William Merritt Chase’s attention to textures and colors indoors and out, and  the “quiet magic” of Emil Carlsen’s still lifes.

Faulkenberry’s work has been featured in leading art publications, and she is frequently asked to jury art shows. Her work is represented in corporate, private, and museum collections across the country. A Signature Member of the prestigious Plein-Air Painters of America since 1996, she served as PAPA president and spokesperson in 2008-2009.  

 

AFFILIATIONS

Signature Member and past president of the Plein-Air Painters of America (PAPA)

Master Signature Member of American Women Artists, 1999-2005

Founding Member, Oklahoma Society of Impressionists

 

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY    

Southwest Art, Feb 2005

Plein Air Magazine, Nov 2004

American Artist, Nov 2004 & Nov 2001

Wildlife Art, May-June 2001

Art of the West, Mar-Apr 1999

Focus/Santa Fe, Aug 1998, 1992, & 1987

Art Talk, Aug-Sep 1996

Santa Fean, May 1993

 

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS & CATALOGS

PAPA American Legacy, Our National Parks Exhibition & Catalog, The Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA,         2009 & traveling through 2013 

PAPA European Tradition, American Vision, Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD, 2008

PAPA From the Heart Exhibition & Catalog, The Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA, 2007

Gilcrease Invitational, Tulsa OK, 2009, 2004, 2001

Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK, 1988

 

SOLO SHOWS

Chisholm Trail & Western Heritage Center, Duncan, OK, 2009

Randal Shadid Gallery, Edmond, OK, 2004

Landmark Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 2002

Jan Ballew's Northern Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 2000, 1998

First Bank & Trust, Duncan, OK, 1990

 

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS

Knowlton Gallery, Lodi, CA, 2010, 2009, 2007

Trailside Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ, 2006

Eric Firestone Gallery, Tucson, AZ, 2005-2004

PAPA Annual Shows & Sales, Lake Tahoe, NV, & Catalina, CA, 2005-1996

American Women Artists, Dallas, TX; Santa Fe, NM; 2005-1999 

Lee Youngman Gallery, Napa Valley, CA, 2004-2002

Riverbend Fine Art, Marble Falls, TX, 1999

Oil Painters of America, San Francisco, CA, 1999

Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX, 1995- 1994

Linda McAdoo Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 1992-1989

 

CORPORATE & MUSEUM COLLECTIONS