CURRENT JOB

Webmaster, Graphic Designer, and Vice-President of the Board of Directors for the Latrobe Art Center. She also works individually with the artists to create their own website. Gabrielle is not only a Graphic Designer but a teacher as well. She teaches the Saturday Morning Drawing Classes at the Art Center as well as an online instructor for the Westmoreland County Community College.

Gabrielle is known for her realistic graphite drawings, as well as her photographic looking colored pencil drawings. Recently she has taken a giant leap and broadened her experience by working with Pastels and Watercolors. It's definitely a challenge for her, especially when she's used to very intricate details, but it's one that she is definitely willing to take.

"THINK, BELIEVE, DREAM, DARE..." One of my many favorite quotes from Walt Disney, best describes my outlook on life. To make your dreams come true, you have to truly believe in yourself and in what you do. In Art there are no limits. There are no right or wrong answers. It is a carefree way of looking at life and expressing yourself. I draw not only because it satisfies my desires, but it's such a wonderful feeling to bring pleasure and delight to others by creating a simple piece of artwork.

Gabrielle's Style is dynamic and realistic. "I am fascinated by the human figure. Playing with the contrasts of light and dark can create such interesting composition." Gabrielle works from original photographs that are scanned into the computer and then manipulated through Photoshop. "This is where you can play with your light and darks by adjusting the contrast to give you a strong, dynamic composition. . .something that jumps out at you and hits you right away." After Gabrielle has her "new composition" she resaves her pictures and prints out a copy of it on her computer. She then draws freehand by referring to her original photograph as well as the adjusted photograph to create her artwork. "I simply want to challenge myself and push myself a little bit further each and every time. I feel that with every piece of artwork that I do, I learn something new. Life and Art is a constant learning process, therefore each and everytime I do a new piece of art, I feel that I have to go beyond what I did before. . .it's a battle within me. . ."

GABRIELLE'S PHILOSOPHY

"You only live once, therefore you have to take chances in life and live life to it's fullest. . .have no regrets. To lead a happy full life you must love what you do. . .and I do. I know in my heart that without art in my life, I would have a huge void within myself. Without art I would be incomplete. I have been blessed with a gift that is precious and rare, and a talent I will never take for granted. I am thankful for all the gifts that I have been given in life. Art is the gift that I will cherish and hold close to my heart forever."