In this episode the painter Chelsea Gibson and I discuss her musical background, building a home and studio from the ground up and dealing with criticism. Chelsea Gibson paints portraits of home. Her paintings investigate what it means to call a place “home” and how the lives lived there are interdependent on the spaces within. She paints about the decision to live in such a rural community, and what those choices look like for her friends and models. She is interested in the dichotomy between highly representational and abstract within each work. By investigating what it might feel like to live in someone else’s shoes, Gibson learns from her models, and by painting them she learns more about herself.   Gibson has a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design (2006), and an MFA in Painting from Boston University (2010). At RISD, Gibson helped create the first Drawing Marathon, based on her experience at the New York Studio School in 1999 and 2000. Also a cellist, Gibson attended New England Conservatory from 2001-2003. She is currently a full-time painter in Gilbertsville, NY. She and her husband built their home and studio in a former cow barn, surrounded by 160 acres of woodland.   Chelsea Gibson Website Lyons Weir Gallery Gates of the West