Meet the Artist

Leona Gamble is a fine artist specializing in figurative oil paintings. Her style is

contemporary realism combined with contemplative naturalism. She weaves feeling,

dream, and primal memories into her pieces. Her recent series, Transitions,

contemplates the relationships between mindscapes and landscapes; superimposes the

nimbus of the subconscious onto the stark clarity of the natural world. Leona is an

emerging artist with a BFA from Cal State University at Long Beach. Her artwork can be

found in private collections throughout the United States and internationally.


Artist Statement

My oil paintings are an ode to the feral woman; women that have traveled thru their underworld as Persophone, and hold their wounds and scars with tenderness and strength.

Each woman is presented in their highest form; as an archetype or myth, transcended to almost deity status.  Juxtaposed against the pedestal that I present them on their vulnerability and humanness share space with their elevated selves; wearing their scarlet letters defiantly, standing among their own rebellion, breaking society's projected roles.

I am driven to explore the deep psychological layers of the women that I paint, those elements that exist in each of us.  Conjuring memories of religious altar paintings,  the figures are interwoven into their environments, nature exalting their presence, suspended in personal symbolism, ritual, and the natural world. 

My artistic process is intuitive.  At times I carve into wet paint and then weave back into it other layers of paint. I allow the painting to lead me, the layers to evolve, and the multi-faceted symbolism to be born in its own time. This evolving nature of my work is integral to how it comes into being.

I live with my half of myself in-between spaces that are undefinable. I often feel like a stranger to this world of humans. My dreams move me and are constantly the ocean tides that I feel within myself.
I strongly believe that art gives voice to the soul. The making of it, and the experiencing of it, it calls to a part of ourselves that often has no words.

Art gives a house a voice to become a Home.

“The Artist” a short film by Raji Barbir

CV

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024 - “A Generous Kingdom VIII” Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland OR

2024 - “Chasing Ghosts VIII” Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland OR

2024 - “Whisper!” - Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland, OR

2024 - “12th Annual Portrait Show - Myth” Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2024 - “Liminal III” - Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland, OR

2024 - “Arts North International”, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins, MN

2023 - “Generous Kingdom VII”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2023 - “Chaos and Order ”, Merit Prize Awarded

2023 - “2nd Annual Women in Art ”, First Prize Awarded

2023 - “Abrazo”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2022 - “Liminal II”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2022 - Packard Group National Exhibition 2022, No. 7 Center Gallery, South Dakota

2022 - “Strata”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2022 - “Chasing Ghosts VII” Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland OR

2022 - “A Generous Kingdom VI”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2021 - “Chasing Ghosts VI”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2021 - “AIRE”, Federation Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

2021 - “Liminal”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2020 - “A Generous Kingdom V”, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR

2020 - “AIRE”, Federation Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 - “Living Room Art Show” hosted by Ryan Shuput, June, Salt Lake City, UT

2022 - “Whispering into the Well”, Solo Exhibition June 25 - Desde el Salón, Salt Lake City, UT

ASSOCIATIONS

California Art Club

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Cal State University of Long Beach

focus on representational oil painting

Private study: Hein Atelier of Traditional Art

focus on figure drawing

PUBLICATIONS & AWARDS

- “Meet Leona Gamble” - Interview with Canvas Rebel Jan 30, 2024

- 1st Place in Oil Catagory- Arts North International 2024 -Hopkins Center for the Arts

- Exhibition Cover Artist of “Abrazo”- Verum Ultimum Gallery, July, 2023

- Artist Talk: “Leona Gamble and Her Personal Myths”, Fine Art Shippers, July 12, 2022

- Exhibition Cover Artist of “Strata”- Verum Ultimum Gallery, July 2022

- “Contemporary Figurative Art by Leona Gamble” - 300 Magazine, Aug. 22, 2020

TEACHING

2024 - 2-Day Portrait Painting Workshop, Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT

2023 - 2024 - Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT

Private Art Mentoring, Leona Gamble Studio

  • Interpret the personal meaning

  • Find the Spark of Inspiration

  • Explore the depths of your possible paths

  • An Invitation to take a Closer Look

  • Remember Your Old Forms

Explore Originals