Drawings, a selection
2011
In these metaphorical triptychs created during the pandemic, Hubby recontextualized cartoons symbolizing three phases she identified with: Surrender (to what we could not control), Cocooning (going within and soul searching) and Ideas (resulting revelations). A rainbow pencil can communicate volumes: a one-stop shop of humor, beauty, and hope. It is my intention to play with the tool of a child to gift levity and a birds-eye-view after a time of great heaviness.
“The pandemic has left an indelible mark and I’m grateful that there are some brighter residuals in its wake. I’ve experienced and witnessed the benefits of people’s soul-searching, restructured societal values and priorities, and a radical dissolution with that which is no longer working.”
What’s the Big Idea?, Bettina Hubby, 2021. Rainbow colored pencil on cotton rag paper, 9 x 29.5 inches. BH0585
Truce?, Bettina Hubby, 2021. Rainbow colored pencil on cotton rag paper, 9 x 29.5 inches. BH0581
Mantras and other text pieces
In my Mantras series the brain interprets the meaning of a list of words in part through the vibration caused by the pencil’s neon mark. The texture and lined format, reminiscent of schoolwork aesthetics, communicates that writing a list of positive words is a task worth formal study.
Related exhibition: Positively Earnest.
I CAN FEEL IT IN MY BONES (quoted from Michael Beckwith), Bettina Hubby, 2020. Rainbow colored pencil on linen, 42 x 48 inches. BH0517
WHEE WHEE WHEE…, Bettina Hubby, 2020. Rainbow colored pencil on cotton rag paper, 22.5 x 30.125 inches. BH074
HE, HA, HEE, HAH, HO…, Bettina Hubby, 2020. Rainbow colored pencil on cotton rag paper, 22.5 x 30.125 inches. BH0375
I’M OK YOU’RE OK WE’RE OK…, Bettina Hubby, 2020. Rainbow colored pencil on cotton rag paper, 12.875 x 10.125 inches. BH0372
I AM THAT…, Bettina Hubby, 2020. Rainbow colored pencil on cotton rag paper, 12.875 x 10.125 inches. BH0371
A: Positively Earnest, Bettina Hubby, 2019. Prismacolor pencil on paper, 13.75 x 6.25 inches. BH2832
B: Positively Earnest, Bettina Hubby, 2019. Prismacolor pencil on paper, 13.75 x 6.25 inches. BH2833
C: Positively Earnest, Bettina Hubby, 2019. Prismacolor pencil on paper, 13.75 x 6.25 inches. BH2834
Ancient sign, Bettina Hubby, 2018. Rainbow pencil on gray Magnani Pescia paper, 13 x 22 inches. BH2820
Reflective sign, Bettina Hubby, 2018. Rainbow pencil on gray Magnani Pescia paper, 13 x 22 inches. BH2826
Confrontational sign, Bettina Hubby, 2018. Rainbow pencil on gray Magnani Pescia paper, 13 x 22 inches. BH2821
Long awaited sign, Bettina Hubby, 2018. Rainbow pencil on gray Magnani Pescia paper, 13 x 22 inches. BH2825
Hubby on the series:
When drawing I often utilize rainbow pencils, which have multiple colors in a single lead. It is a tool which acts as a symbol of hope in my Waiting for a Sign series of appropriated cartoons featuring men looking for water in the desert. The empty signs are indicative of the literal hopelessness felt by a nation amidst political and social unrest. We are all looking for answers and meaning—the rainbow offers solace and aspiration for change.
More images and related exhibition: Art Los Angeles Contemporary.
Take off your hat and stay, Bettina Hubby, 2018. Colored pencil on paper, 17 x 11 inches. BH0330
A feather tickled him, Bettina Hubby, 2018. Colored pencil on paper, 9.5 x 9.5 inches. BH0331
Oh father where art thou, Bettina Hubby, 2018. Colored pencil on paper, 17 x 11 inches. BH0332
Hubby on the drawings in the series:
Colored pencils offer texture that mimics fabric and reveals the absence of skin in my Sex without the people works. By only drawing the clothing I highlight its sculptural form while at the same time the hyper sexual content recedes to the background.
More images and related series: Were Not Now and Sex Without the People.
The inexorable march of time, Bettina Hubby, 2015. Colored pencil, ink, and collage on paper, 10 x 7.25 inches. BH0395
Sleep then endless sleep, Bettina Hubby, 2015. Colored pencil, ink, and collage on paper, 10 x 7.25 inches. BH0398
More images and related publication: Everything Irreversible, Anything Diaphanous.
RELAX RELAX RELAX RELAX RELAX.., Bettina Hubby, 2015. Colored pencil, vellum, and collage on paper, 5.25 x 12.75 inches. BH0333
RELAX YOU DESERVE IT IT’ GOOD FOR YOU AND IT TAKES LESS TIME THAN YOU THINK, Bettina Hubby, 2015. Colored pencil, vellum, and collage on paper, 7 x 7.5 inches. BH0264
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP YOUR SHOULDERS DOWN AND Y OUR BACK RELAXED, ETC., Bettina Hubby, 2015. Colored pencil, vellum, and collage on paper, 9.125 x 7.25 inches. BH2139
Hubby on her drawings in the series:
Human touch is essential to the Relax: #pillowstellingmetodothings works. My mark making is paired with images derived from magazines of pillows and other relaxation props—the human and the manufactured come together. Creating the word bubbles with colored pencil forced my mind to soak in the very messages I’m attempting to radiate.
More images and related exhibition and series: Soft Schindler and RELAX, #pillowstellingmetodothings.
Sex Without the People (girl smoking), Bettina Hubby, 2011. Ink on rice paper, 10 x 8 inches. BH1559
Sex Without the People (two couples), Bettina Hubby, 2011. Ink on rice paper, 10 x 8 inches. BH1562
Sex Without the People (girl on girl), Bettina Hubby, 2011. Ink on rice paper, 10 x 8 inches. BH1566
More images and related series: Sex Without the People.