Born in 1950 in Martinez, California, I have observed the changes and decline of our natural environment. This has greatly influenced my artistic interests. The beauty, complexity and diversity of nature have always been the focus of my work.
At age eight I had my first oil painting instruction and produced my first painting. "Yosemite Valley” and its reflection in the Merced River, was rendered from a postcard. My great-uncle, Phillip Menard, an accomplished Sacramento valley landscape painter, lived with our family on occasion and was an early mentor. After graduating as a Fine Art major from UC Santa Barbara in 1972, I sketched my way around Europe and North Africa for a year before returning to California.
Abstract designs and patterns found in nature can be important elements for me to convey. Boats also have held a lifelong attraction for me and they and their reflections often surface in my paintings. I utilize photography as a tool to help with greater observation of my subjects. The details aid my attempt to make paintings read equally well from up close as from a distance, no matter the size. My work ranges from one by two inches to six by four feet or larger.
While producing them, I tend to think of my large paintings as giant miniatures and think of my miniatures in a grand scale. The big difference is focus and application. Changing format and size provides constant mental challenges and stimulation. I have worked in many mediums including oils, acrylics, oil pastels and colored pencil, etching and lithography, all providing their own particular challenges and intrigue for me.
I want to remind and inspire people to take a close look, participate in and preserve our beautiful world.
Louis LaBrie
Recent Exhibitons
- 2016 'Safe at Home: A Short Survey of Baseball Art', group exhibition
Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, California - 2015 May 23 - July 10, 'At the Edge', group exhibiton, Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, California
- 2014 'By Invitation Only', A contemporary landscape Invitational, Saint Mary's College Museum of Art, Moraga, California
- 2014 'Land & Water', Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, California
- 2013-14 "Small Works Holiday Show", Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, California
- 2013 'The Beauty Around Us', 333 Bush Street, San Francisco, California
- 2013 'Twelfth Annual California Landscape Painters', Natsoulas Center for the Arts, Davis, California
- 2013 'Building a Collection: Highlights and Recent Acquisitions from the Saint Mary's College Museum of Art Permanent Collection', Saint Mary's College, Moraga, California
- 2013 'Fourth Annual Art of Painting In the 21st Century', Natsoulas Center for the Arts, Davis, California
Solo Exhibitions
- 2013 'The Beauty Around Us', 333 Bush Street, San Francisco, California
- 2012 'Louis LaBrie', Natsoulas Center for the Arts, Davis, California
- 2009-10 'Water', Cambridge Art Gallery, Santa Monica, California
- 2008 'A Closer Look', Cambridge Art Gallery, Santa Monica, California
- 2006 Worthington Gallery West, Pleasanton, California
- 2002 Montgomery Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 2000 Maxwell Galleries, LTD., San Francisco, California
- 1995 Hespe Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1991 Miramar Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
- 1991 Oakland Museum Collectors Gallery, Oakland, California
- 1987 Richard Hanson Fine Arts, Fresno, California
- 1986 Lake Gallery, Tahoe City, California Graystone, San Francisco, California
- 1984 Wrubel Gallery, The Nature Company, Berkeley, California
- 1982 Galerie Bateau Lavoir, Oakland, California
- 1982 San Francisco State University, San Francisco
- 1982 California Pamela Auchincloss Gallery, Santa Barbara, California
- 1981 Missoula Museum of the Arts, Missoula, Montana
- 1979 The Armand Roi Gallery, Martinez, California
Two Person Exhibition
- 2007 Town and Country, Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary's College, Moraga, California
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2013 Twelfth Annual California Landscape Painters, Natsoulas Center for the Arts, Davis, California
- 2013 Building a Collection: Highlights and Recent Acquisitions from the Saint Mary's College Museum of Art Permanent Collection, Saint Mary's College, Moraga, California
- 2013 Fourth Annual Art of Painting In the 21st Century', Natsoulas Center for the Arts, Davis, California
- 2012 Eleventh Annual California Landscape Painters, Center for the Arts, Davis, California
- 2012 Third Annual Art of Painting In the 21st Century, Center for the Arts, Davis, California
- 2011 Tenth Annual California Landscape Painters, Center for the Arts, Davis, California
- 2010-11 Passages, William Havu Gallery, Denver, Colorado
- 2010 Ninth Annual California Landscape Exhibition & Conference', Davis, California
- 2010 Landscapes’, William Havu Gallery, Denver, Colorado
- 2009 Sacred Mountain: Images of Mt. Diablo and Mt. Fuji, Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary's College, Moraga, California
- 2007 Spring Training, The Art of Baseball, George Krevsky Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 2006 Top of the Ninth, The Art of Baseball, George Krevsky Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 2005 More Than A Game, The Art of Baseball, George Krevsky Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 2004 Art of the Game, The Art of Baseball, George Krevsky Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 2004 Small Format, Graystone, San Francisco, California
- 2003 Unbounded Vistas: Artists Interpret the Northern Cali fornia Landscape, Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary's College, Moraga, California
- 2002 The Miniature Show, Graystone, San Francisco, California
- 1995 Yosemite Renaissance X, Yosemite, California
- 1993 Ten Years of Printmaking-Magnolia Editions, California Museum of Art, Luther Burbank Center, Santa Rosa, California
- 1992 Recent Acquisitions, Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary's College of California
- 1991 Get Real, Gallery Concord, Concord, California Small Scale Paintings, Valley Art Gallery, Walnut Creek, California
- 1990 Pacific Prints, Pacific Art League of Palo Alto, Palo Alto, California Yosemite Renaissance V, Yosemite, California Graystone Artists, Mendocino Arts Center, Mendocino, California Gallery Concord, 2nd Annual Exhibition, Concord, California
- 1989 Tradition and Innovation: 1500-1989, Achenbach Foundation, Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California Down to the Sea in Ships, Gallery Concord, Concord, California Magnolia Editions: Works on Paper, The Art Museum of Santa Cruz, California
- 1988 California Prints, Mills College Art Gallery, Oakland, California Contemporary Japanese and American Prints, Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery, U.C. Santa Cruz and Marin County Civic Center Yosemite Renaissance III, National Competition, Yosemite Valley Visitor Center Yosemite & Fresno Metropolitan Museum, Fresno, California
- 1987 Recent Acquisitions Part II, Achenbach Foundation, San Francisco, California Drawing as Primary Focus, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, California
- 1986 The Atelier in America, Northern Illinois University Japan Print Association/CSP, Tokyo Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- 1985 Prints '85, California Society of Printmakers, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- 1984 Graystone, California on Paper, San Francisco, California California Society of Printmakers, Membership Exhibit, San Jose, California World Print Gallery, Prints USA, Traveling Exhibition
Commissions, Murals and Illustrations
- 1981 Alameda County Board of Education
- 1979 Montessori Center, Santa Barbara, California
- 1978 University of California, Berkeley, California
- 1977 City of Albany, California
- 1976 National Parks Service, Fort Mason, The City Rising, San Francisco, California
- 1975 Machu Picchu Restaurant, Berkeley, California
Publications
- 1991 San Francisco Murals, Pogo Press, Inc.
Selected Collections
- Achenbach Foundation, Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California
- Saint Mary's College Museum of Art, Moraga, California
- Alameda County Public Art Commission, Oakland, California
- American Management Systems, Lakewood, Colorado
- Peter Bedford, Lafayette, California
- Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho
- Cargill Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Carroll, Burdick, and McDonough, San Francisco, California
- Lynn Gould, Curator of Prints, San Diego Art Museum, California
- Gregory Koll, Oakland, California
- Hewlett - Packard Foundation, Californiav
- IBM Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia
- Mrs. Glen Janss, Sun Valley, Idaho
- Kaiser Foundation Collection, Oakland, California
- Life Insurance Company of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia
- Merrill Lynch Collection, San Francisco, California
- Pillsbury Collection, San Francisco, California
- Smith-Barney, Boston, Massachusetts
- Sperry Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Texaco Corporation, Dallas, Texas
- United States State Department, Washington, D.C.
- The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey