Original Artwork by Pamela A Grabber

Pamela A. Grabber, born and raised in Connecticut, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of CT in 1986.  After raising a family with her husband, John, she became a working artist in 2017.  Receiving instruction and inspiration from Jan Norsetter, Bethann Moran-Handzlik, Mark Boedges, Lori Putnam, Kathie Odom and Haidee-Jo Summers furthered her skills and passion for painting. She is a member of the Wisconsin Visual Artists, the Mount Horeb Area Artist Association, and the American Impressionists Society.  Travels near and far provide her with endless opportunities to paint from direct observation outdoors and when it's cold outside she paints from Solace Studio in her cozy Mazomanie, Wisconsin home.

Pamela describes her work:

"Painting requires an engagement of everything within me, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  When I paint, I'm responding to the subject before me in real time, whether outdoors or in the studio, as I prefer to work in the gift of natural light.  Inspired by curiosity or compassion, mystery or adventure, I often begin the work with a value sketch and a chosen word which captures an emotion or sense of my surroundings. I paint a word such as "settled", "love", or "quiet" on my blank gessoed birch panel and then begin from that place of connection, moving into the process with increasing courage. Challenges and uncertainties arise, I connect with God in prayer and continue onward, ever curious to see what will come of this day's particular attempts in the journey.  
My practice is divided between the seasons of " warm enough to go outside" and "stay inside otherwise the paints will freeze".  My outside painting is mostly done in the Plein air style and mainly in one session.  My inside painting is more meditative and methodical, working over days or weeks on one painting employing a technique known as "grisaille".  Since this method requires several days of drying time between layers, I find my Wisconsin winter experience suits this slower paced practice very well.

Surprising discoveries occur when a collector decides to add my work to their collection.  I'm amazed by a painting's power to create a connection with people, fostering new friendships or transformational conversations.  Creativity begets creativity! Rewarding experiences like these make the wholehearted engagement of the painting life a meaningful endeavor for me.