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Graviss’ mother (left) and her sisters Marie (right) and Diane (not pictured) all contribute to the Graviss Studio, by handling administrative details ranging from packaging and mailing to marketing and editing. Photo by Jon Psimer
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From her Midway-based studio, Woodford County artist Debbie Graviss creates photo-realistic charcoal portraits of animals, plants and landscapes. Photo by Jon Psimer
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Photo by Jon Psimer
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Photo furnished by Graviss Studios
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With the help of her mother and “intern,” (pictured here) as well as her sisters, Graviss has created a line of products that includes greeting cards, wooden art boards, tote bags and more. Photo furnished
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With encouragement from New Editions Gallery owner Frankie York, Graviss started painting florals in 2012. Like the animals she paints, her floral and plant-life subjects also tend to exude a sense of animation and emotion. Photo furnished by Graviss Studios
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Photo furnished by Graviss Studios
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to start a dialogue of sorts with her painted subjects. Her affinity for painting animals can be traced, in large part, to many years of volunteering with the Woodford Humane Society. Photo furnished by Graviss Studios
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Photo furnished by Graviss Studios
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Photo furnished by Graviss Studios
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Based in a historic former hemp warehouse, Graviss’ Midway studio is brimming with natural light. Photo furnished
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Photo furnished
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Photo furnished
Like many who grew up on a farm, Debbie Graviss can trace her affinity for animals and wildlife back to her childhood. The Woodford County visual artist, known primarily for her ebullient and realistic charcoal portraits of dogs, cats, plants and landscapes, fondly recalls being surrounded by pets while growing up in the Lexington countryside.
“We had everything as pets – crows, all kinds of fish… pet crawdads,” Graviss said. “I think at one point we had 16 stray cats that had been dumped off to us… I always wanted to have a horse growing up, so we eventually ended up with a couple of ponies.”
Her mother, who always encouraged Graviss to explore art and now works in her studio as an “intern,” confirms that as a little girl, Graviss loved the animals – more so even than the other kids, the artist joked.
“I was always worrying, ‘have they been fed, do they have enough food, do they have fresh water?’” Graviss said with a laugh. “I’ve always had a very close connection with animals.”
Despite this early kinship, it was well into her adult years before Graviss discovered an outlet that helped her fully realize and express that connection with animals. Having led what she describes as an “incredibly blessed” life, Graviss wanted to give back to the community. She began volunteering for the Woodford Humane Society in the 1990s, eventually moving into a role as the organization’s board president, which she describes as a “full-time volunteer job.” While the position was immensely rewarding, it was also quite consuming – and not without its emotional tolls.
“I made a lot of friends; I loved what we were able to do, but it took a lot out of you,” she said. “It was very stressful at times.”
Looking for a creative channel to help counteract the strains of the job, Graviss began taking oil-painting classes from Lexington artist Betty Plymale in 2002, appointing the animals from the Humane Society as her first subjects. Having worked for years as an interior designer before starting a business creating architectural renderings, she found that painting appealed to both her creative and her technical sides while also giving her a positive outlet to explore and express the emotional connection she had with the animals she encountered.
“Really, it was thanks to the animals that I started painting,” she said. “We’re so close to our animals – they just bring a lot of joy to our lives. A lot of unconditional love.”
Creative Lexington: Debbie Graviss Snapshot Bio
Creative Lexington: Debbie Graviss Snapshot Bio. Video by Jon Psimer / produced by Bryan Mullins.
When it comes to painting animals, Graviss said she always starts with the eyes, allowing her to start a dialogue of sorts with her subjects. Vivacious personality traits come through in almost all of her painted subjects – with the animals, to be sure, but the flowers and plant life that Graviss paints also tend to exude a sense of emotion and animate energy.
“I don’t even know what any of that is,” said the artist – who rarely paints humans – when asked about the human-like expression of her subjects. “I just know that I’m painting what I see and how I feel about that particular thing that I’m painting.”
Graviss, whose studio is located in a historic former hemp warehouse in downtown Midway, credits Frankie York, owner of the Lexington gallery New Editions, for igniting her foray into floral and botanical paintings. After representing her animal art for a number of years, York approached Graviss in advance of hosting her second-ever solo show in 2012, encouraging her to try her hand with floral subjects. As Graviss recalls in “Graviss Studios: Beauty, Joy and Laughter Shared Through the Art of Debbie Graviss,” the 9-by-12-inch coffee table book highlighting her artwork that was published last year, she “soon found a new passion in painting the exquisite beauty found in the garden.”
Taking the time to stop and appreciate beauty is a meditative mechanism that has become an integral part of both Graviss’ artistic process and mission.
“We’re all so busy anymore that we don’t stop to pay attention and to listen – to see what is there and what’s happening around us,” she said. “When you do go out and take a hike and go through the woods, and you stop and listen to what’s really going on – I think it’s humbling.
“I think it just settles everything back down into place.”
Understanding the intrinsic value of beauty – the ways in which we often push it aside and the importance of incorporating it into our day-to-day lives – has helped Graviss better understand and appreciate the value of her own art.
“People need something that just makes them smile, makes them feel good, takes them out of the anxieties and stresses and things in life that can make us feel really hopeless,” she said. “There are a lot of things we see out there that impact us in a negative way, and we really need to see things that impact us in a positive way – I think that’s just really, really needed.
“I’m beginning to understand better how beauty leads us to truth and goodness,” the artist added.