Gail Morrison-Hall

Gail Morrison-Hall

Wyncote, PA

Oil Painter

Artist Bio & Statement

While attending elementary and junior high schools I entertained various ideas about “what I want to be when I grow up”. Upon entering high school I enrolled in Saturday art classes then sponsored by the Philadelphia School District; my instructor looked at my work and said: “you are going to be an art major, aren’t you?” And that was it! I knew “what I wanted to be when I grew up”. I was accepted into Tyler School of Art on full scholarship intending on a career as a fine artist. My parents, like many of their generation, were products of the Depression and encouraged me to get additional certification in education, “to have something to fall back on”.

While doing my practice teaching I realized that I was really good at working with younger kids in the art room. I continued my studies earning advanced degrees (MA ed +60 additional credits)from Arcadia University (then Beaver College), Penn State and Temple Universities.

My own artwork went on the back burner while I pursued a successful career in the classroom.

Except for a brief stint out West, I focused on teaching art rather than making art. Combining the two just didn’t work for me; one or the other suffered. Now that I am no longer teaching full-time I have been able to focus on my own artistic expression and making and exhibiting my own art.

I am primarily an abstract painter with a bias toward mixed media and collage. Although basically non-representational in approach, I will occasionally include recognizable imagery. Urban scenes, old or demolished buildings, and Victorian gingerbread houses, medieval manuscripts are the subjects which most often draw me. I am constantly exploring and experimenting, not limiting myself to one set “style”. A friend once described my work as that of “six different artists, all named Gail”. What unites my varied approaches to making art is an exploration of which techniques and media will best suit the subject(s) of the painting I am working on. Each piece of art I make takes on its own life and tells me what to do. New subjects/concepts lead to my exploring new techniques and materials.