Brian Cobble

“310 – W 7th” © Brian Cobble

Name: Brian Cobble, PSA

URL: http://briancobble.com/

Bio:  Brian Cobble was born in 1953, in Ohio. He got his BFA in 1975, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, and in 1977 his MFA from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. He attended the  Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine in 1977.  Although his training was chiefly in oil painting, Brian fatefully turned to pastels  when oil paints began to irritate his eyes, pleased and surprised at what he could achieve with them.

Brian had his first solo exhibition in 1978, and ever since has had numerous solo and group shows, garnering many awards along the way. In the last decade he has been awarded First Place, Art Spirit Foundation, Dianne B. Bernhard Gold Medal Award in the 31st Annual Open Juried Exhibition for Pastels Only, Pastel Society of America; he was named Master Pastelist, by the  PSA in 2006;  he won the Pastel Journal Grand Prize Award in the 2007 Pastel 100; and in 2008 he was awarded First Place, Twelfth Juried Exhibition: Web Show, International Association of Pastel Societies. He was the Juror for Landscape and Interior in the 2012 Pastel 100; his evaluation of art typically begins with a sort of “gut reaction” - stating that “If you’re jealous of it, it’s probably good”.

Brian’s work has been featured in numerous publications, from American Arts Quarterly, through Southwest Art, the Pastel Journal (April 2006 and April 2008), Dallas Arts Review, the Artist’s Magazine, and American Arts Quarterly.

Apart from private and corporate collectors, Brian’s work can be seen in such varied public collections as the El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas; the Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Columbus Museum, Columbus, Georgia; and the Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Texas.

To learn more about the art of Brian Cobble, one can do no better than read the two essays on his website. There is little point in my rehashing them here – read the originals! Brian Cobble’s own essay refers to his influences, his work ethic and his technique.

The artist  currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Medium: Pastel.

Technique: Brian works chiefly on Strathmore Series 500 Illustration Board or even watercolour paper mounted on board for larger works. A coat of clear gesso for tooth is followed by underpainting in oils, acrylics, or gouache, before pastel is applied.

Subjects: Landscape. According to critic Roger Winter, “If Cobble has a signature subject, and whether or not he does is, to his credit, a debatable issue, it would have to be called the built environment.”

Style: Representational. Cobbles landscapes are quintessentially American; often unpeopled; there is certainly an echo of Edward Hopper; although Cobble cites George Inness, Charles Burchfield, Maynard Dixon, Daniel Garber, Samuel Colman, among the artists who inspired him.

Navigation: Navigation is simple, straightforward.

Gallery: Pastel Gallery; Print Gallery

Image View:  Thumbnails scroll along bottom of viewer, whose large images may be downloaded;  if you click on the latter they open in a scrolling Flash viewer with no download facility.  310 – W 7th is 13 x 22 ins, 825 x 334, 274 KB

Demo/Blog: No; but read the essays.