Lea Laboy, a Contemporary Academic Oil Painter with a Passion for Color
In a world of well-defined artistic styles and techniques, Lea Laboy has carved a unique niche for herself. The academic oil painter elegantly blends practice and theory and works at the intersection of classical impressionism, minimalism, and conceptualism. Her paintings impress with the intricate interplay of color and light, while her academic publications push the boundaries of art research and theory. Here is a glimpse of Laboy’s creative portfolio and approach that sets her apart from many contemporary artists.
“Field Violet” by Lea Laboy
What Does It Mean to Be an Academic Oil Painter?
Lea Laboy publishes academic works in specialized journals and digital sources to share her findings in the field of art research, architecture, the science of paint pigment, and color research. She also relies on the centuries of academic work in the field of the theory of painting. One of the most inspirational figures for the artist is Jacques Blockx, a 19th-century painter and theorist who published a book, “A Compendium of Painting,” in 1926.
“Morning in the Forest” by Lea Laboy
Lea Laboy’s Unique Relations with Color
Laboy has a special relation with color, one of the main elements of her art. As the painter confessed in many of her interviews, she relies only on three basic colors and meticulously develops a color palette for each of her works, which may take from several days to many months. Laboy never uses black because it doesn’t exist in nature and represents only a combination of all colors. She also strives to minimize the use of white in her paintings.
“Red Clover” by Lea Laboy
This way, each of Lea Laboy’s works is a result of lengthy, considerate color palette selection and compositional organization. The artist prioritizes simplicity in painting and sticks to natural colors and forms when finding themes for her art. She creates her paintings on cardboard and applies heavily pigmented paints and paints of her own production to achieve the intended visual effect and depth of color.
“Stradivarius” by Lea Laboy
Creative Portfolio and Interests
Lea Laboy is an academic oil painter, but her work isn’t limited to painting only. The artist’s creative portfolio includes fascinating miniature books, tazhib artwork, illustration, goldsmithing, and more. She also creates traditional postage stamps, ex libris, artistic fabric, and handmade paper that she manufactures using a traditional method originating from Mexico. Besides, Lea Laboy is the author of books in the fields of painting, architecture, art history, and psychogeography. Her works have been exhibited around the globe and are in many private collections in the US, the UK, and other countries.