2019-12-01 The Artist\'s Magazine

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DESIGN REDUX

Rabe also works in collage, which is always inspired by a preceding oil painting—and leftover oil
paint. Using the leftover paint on her palette as part of her collage material, Rabe paints color
swatches on lightweight sketch paper. “When I was contemplating possible imagery in my collages,
I decided I’d work from existing paintings,” she says. “It’s been an interesting process because the
initial design idea is already complete [as in Prayer Plant, left], and with that already resolved, I can
then play with color [as in Prayer Plant, right]. It’s like a variation on a theme, working with the
same imagery but exploring it in a different way.”

ABOVE LEFT

Prayer Plant

oil on canvas, 16x12

ABOVE RIGHT

Prayer Plant

painted paper

collage, 14x11

THE POWER OF LIMITS
“One of things I find most powerful in
art is the power of limits,” says Rabe,
referencing the book The Power of
Limits: Proportional Harmonies in
Nature, Art and Architecture by György
Dóczi. “The book is about the power
of limits in nature, and I find it very
inspiring. I started to realize that
every great artist has a specific focus,
and that’s what makes his or her work
so powerful. Cézanne did what he did,
but he didn’t do what Matisse did; he
didn’t do what van Gogh was doing.
He had his own vision and really stuck

with it. That, in a way, is a limit. I find

that idea very powerful.”

In keeping with the notion of

limitations, Rabe restricts her palette

to a few colors. “I use maybe four

colors max, plus white,” she says.

Although she responds to the color

wheel, she believes having fewer

options creates surprising color rela-

tionships and keeps the work itself

unified. “I do a lot of color mixing,”

the artist says. “My colors are almost

never straight out of the tube. My

favorite thing is neutralized color. The

color gray is the most influenced color

because it’s affected by whatever is

around it. It’s kind of amazing.” As

Rabe develops a painting, she may

allow herself a few additional colors

if there “isn’t enough snap.”

WHAT NOT TO SAY

Because Rabe works from what she

observes, she finds it both exciting

and difficult to portray what actually

exists and what to leave to interpreta-

tion. “I think every artist is always

developing his drawing skills,” she

says. “I don’t mean that I’m trying

to make my drawing of a chair in a