Mensa Canada - Gabe Czobel's Gallery

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To view more of Gabe's work, CLICK HERE to go to his own web site.

Pencil on paper, circa 1964.

At about this time, I produced a number of portraits in pencil. This portrait of Einstein, based on a photograph, caught my eye. I liked the use of the dark background to contrast with his unruly shock of white hair. It was an interesting challenge for a medium which deposits only shades of grey and black on a white surface.

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To view more of Gabe's work, CLICK HERE to go to his own web site.

Acrylic on canvas, circa 1970.

View from an island in Algonquin Provincial Park. This painting was rendered from a sketch I made while camping. Two visual effects caught my eye when viewing this scene and I wanted to see how it would work out on canvas.

One was the three different reflective qualities displayed by the water; some almost without detail due to the reflected glare of the sun, some showing waves, and some areas showing a high sheen due to the calming effect of vegetation just below the surface.

The second visual effect was what is called "atmospheric perspective" whereby the more distant an object is, the more hazy, monochromatic, and less detailed it appears.

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To view more of Gabe's work, CLICK HERE to go to his own web site.

Oil on canvas panel, circa 1971.

The rough-cut facial features of the subject caught my attention and was the primary motivation for this painting. Since he was of Greek origin, I placed him in an imaginary Greek ruin setting with the Aegean in the background. The lighting was angled to bring out his weathered features.

I was told by other Greeks that I managed to capture the subtle colours and atmosphere of the locale quite well, in spite of not having experienced it first hand -- or they were just being kind.

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To view more of Gabe's work, CLICK HERE to go to his own web site.

Oil on canvas board, circa 1971.

The central point of interest for me in this painting is that the source of light is part of the painting. Other than sunsets or sunrises, this is usually not the case. Here, the source is also relatively dim and gives a generally dark, yet warm atmosphere. Oil is a wonderful medium for such subjects.

I took some liberty with the actual lighting as I painted, since the candle would not really have provided enough light to evenly illuminate the wine bottle as I depicted. It would have been mostly in dark shadow, in reality, because the wax of the candle would have obscured the light from the narrower flame.

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To view more of Gabe's work, CLICK HERE to go to his own web site.

Inks with brush and airbrush on Bristol board, circa 1977.

From a photo of Farrah Fawcett in TV Guide® magazine.

Prior to this painting, I tried a simple "single action" airbrush, which had only air pressure control, to create a portrait in acrylic. I was so impressed with the technique, that I bought a more expensive "double action" airbrush which also had paint flow control.

I wanted to take advantage of the subtle gradations that an air brush does so well. But I didn't want to use the air brush exclusively because the results tend to look too fuzzy when creating details. Using standard watercolour brushes for details, combined with the airbrush where it excels, makes for a painting that's much more balanced.

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To view more of Gabe's work, CLICK HERE to go to his own web site.

Watercolour with brush and airbrush, 1998.

Portraits in watercolour are a real challenge, as they are in any medium. Of course you want to capture the subject's personality. But in addition to that, the subtle hues and gradations of the skin require a very light touch. I prefer augmenting the bristle brush with the softness and subtlety that only an airbrush can produce. The trick is not to overuse the airbrush but to let it lightly enhance the framework created with the bristle brushes.

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To view more of Gabe's work, CLICK HERE to go to his own web site.

Watercolour with brush and airbrush, 1999.

Still life affords an unusual apportunity for an artist. The composition, lighting, and arrangement are largely under his/her control. In this case, I was very interested in the various colours and textures of the different fruits and the way light reflected from one to the other.

In such an arrangement, it is imperative that the impression of solidity and structure be conveyed. That is, each fruit must appear to have its shape and particular location in the pile, otherwise there is a danger that the structure will look flat. The airbrush was a tremendous help here in accentuating the subtle shading and bringing out the secondary reflections of light.