Boy on a Bike

Charles “Bud” Gibbons (1947– ), Boy on Bike, acrylic, 47 x 37 in., acquired 1987, Friends of Art Collection for Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Charles “Bud” Gibbons (1947– ), Boy on Bike, acrylic, 47 x 37 in., acquired 1987, Friends of Art Collection for Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Response By: Eli R.
Pittsburgh artist, Bud Gibbons, advises young people to be creative. Gibbons is an Associated Artist of Pittsburgh, and he teaches at Penn State New Kensington. His painting, “Boy on Bike” was purchased by the Friends of Art. Gibbons has always been inspired by another artist, Winslow Homer. The acrylic painting, “Boy on Bike” has different shades of colors, and it is a big painting so people can look at it and realize it is realistic in style. I believe the boy in the painting looks like he is staring at something like a car or a bird. The boy on the bike in this art work could be the artist as a child. In my opinion I think the artist, Gibbons, wants to express his feelings in this work so people can enjoy looking at it and discussing the painting of a boy on his bike.
Response By: Elom A.
Bud Gibbons, the artist, used paint for this painting. Yes, the media is important for this type of art work because you can show different shapes and light. The genre of this figure painting is realistic. The painting is about a little boy riding a bike on the country road. This boy may be waiting for an oncoming car. I like the painting because it looks real!
Response By: Hassan D.
I don’t really get art. Taking a closer look at Gibbon’s “Boy on Bike,” my impression is that the work is not that important. The canvas is large. The subject is a boy on his bicycle, and yes, it is called a “figure” painting. I don’t think the acrylic is realistic, and to me, it is not the very best work of art I have seen. Again, I don’t really get art! As you can tell by reading my first paragraph, I have little or no feelings about the artist’s work, and it does not appeal to me. The research I read on Bud Gibbons was uninspiring. I’m not good at art, and it bothers me that I’m not talented in art. I don’t know how to change this feeling. I do know that my art teacher tries everything she can to interest me.
Response By: Jaiman W.
Bud Gibbons is a famous artist who lives in Pittsburgh and works at Penn State University New Kensington. The painter, Gibbons, spent a lot of time making the landscape in “Boy on Bike”. In my research about the artist I read that he calls this type of portrait, figure painting, because of the only boy. The painting shows a summer scene and is a very realistic painting. The artist used many colors and a lot of shading in this large work. He made it large for a good view. This acrylic was painted on a sturdy canvas. I think this is a wonderful painting. Gibbons is very creative with acrylic paints. I also think the Friends of Art made a good choice in purchasing this art work for the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
In my opinion, I think Gibbons just had an idea about a boy and his bicycle. I don’t think he had a reason to paint this particular portrait.
Response By: Joshua S.
The Pittsburgh artist, Bud Gibbons, works at Penn State University New Kensington campus. He is an art teacher at the University and he is a working artist as well. Gibbons uses acrylic paints for the figure painting of “Boy on Bike” that now hangs in the library of Banksville Elementary School thanks to the Friends of Art. The size of the canvas for this work is very large, and the syle is realistic. The colors appeal to me, and the paint texture on the canvas looks hard.I kind of like this art work, and I think the boy in the painting could be in a town or on a highway; it’s summer, and I really like how Gibbons signed his name in the grass. My personal opinion about this work is that I consider it an awesome painting because the bike looks real, and the boy looks like me! I think the artist’s message might be that summer is a good time to ride a bike, and it is very warm in the summer.
Response By: Lucas
I like the painting, “Boy on Bike” by artist, Bud Gibbons. I think he first sketched a picture of a boy on a bicycle and then he painted the boy and his bike on a canvas. Gibbons used acrylic paints and the canvas for this work is of medium size. The style of painting is realistic. I think the white paint helps the viewer to see the bicycle. Gibbons calls this work, figure painting. I can’t tell too much about the texture of the paint because the art work is very high on top of a book case in our library. The Friends of Art purchased this painting for students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Response By: Malea
Bud Gibbons, Pittsburgh artist, teaches at Penn State University of the New Kensington campus. He says that his work has been inspired by another artist, Homer Winslow. The Friends of Art purchased this painting of a boy on his bike for the students in the Pittsburgh Public School where it now hangs in the Banksville Elementary library. The Friends of Art began purchasing art work in 1916. I think this painting is a good one. The background seems to be painting in the summer time. Gibbon’s canvas is very large so viewers can see it. I think it looks like the artist finger-painted onto the canvas. I really like the “Boy on Bike” figure painting because of the use of so much of the same color paints. I don’t really think Gibbons had a particular message.
Response By: Nica P.
Pittsburgh artist, Bud Gibbons, teaches at Penn State New Kensington. He uses acrylic oil paints because of how it looks on stretched canvas. Gibbons lives in Pittsburgh. His painting, “Boy on Bike,” was purchased by the Friends of Art and given as a gift to the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The figure painting now hangs at Banksville K-8. “Boy on Bike” is a large painting. To me, the texture looks like it was finger painted by Gibbons. The presentation of this painting is realistic, and it looks to me that the boy on the canvas is turning to see if there is a car behind him, or he heard something and turned to see what it was. I think this art work is astonishingly beautiful. I love this painting of a boy on his bike.
Response By: Nyraba D.
I think the acrylic painting, “Boy on Bike”, is very realistic, almost as if a photograph was taken by a camera and then painted by the artist. This work makes me feel like I could draw or make art as good as the Pittsburgh artist, Bud Gibbons. Perhaps his message for this figure painting is to say that it is better riding your bike in the summer than in the winter! The acrylic paint media for this art work is important because if it had been created in crayon or magic marker it would not look so good. The canvas is of a medium size, the subject very realistic, and the scratchy technique makes the bike look like my brother’s bike. I certainly believe that the artist, Gibbons, took his time and used much effort to paint the “Boy on Bike.”
Response By: Ridasia H.
Bud Gibbons is a painter. He teaches at Penn State University at the New Kensington campus. I don’t know when the “Boy and Bike” was painted, but I do know that his painting is hanging in my school because the artist is a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and his work was purchased for the Pittsburgh Public Schools by the Friends of Art. The artist, Bud Gibbons, used acrylic paints as the media for his work, “Boy on Bike”, because the subject of the painting is a boy and he is on a bike, and the artist says that acrylic paints help him tell about the subjects or figures in his work. The artist shows a summer day, and perhaps the artist himself likes bikes. In the painting, it looks like the sun is shining on the boy’s head. It also may be that Gibbons painted the neighborhood in which he lives. Shadows in the background show daytime. The painting is a realistic image of a boy on his bike, on a road, with the boy turning his head to see something. I want to thank the Friends of Art for purchasing this figure painting. I believe that the artist, Gibbons, created this painting because he likes bicycles and he wanted to make his feelings known.
Response By: Sam
Bud Gibbons has always been inspired by another artist; Winslow Homer. Gibbons is from Pittsburgh. The “Boy on Bike” was painted with acrylic paints and the artist used different brushes for different parts of the art work. A large brush was probably used for the background, and smaller brushes for the grasses. The boy may be waiting for his friend. I like this painting because of the beautiful shadows. Thank you to the Friends of Art for purchasing this work for the Pittsburgh Pubic School students.
Response By: Shamus B.
Bud Gibbons is a painter. He teaches at Penn State as a full time career. Gibbons was always inspired to become a painter by another painter, Winslow Homer. The artist, Gibbons, created a figure painting of a boy on his bike that is very real looking. The colors in this work are both soft light and Gothic dark. The boy seems to be having a bike ride that was fun. There are patterns of shadows and reflections in this work. To me, the descriptive colors show summer season. I believe that the artist, Bud Gibbons, was trying to inform us that in his painting, “Boy on Bike,” that the figure on the canvas was enjoying his ride, and he might be going somewhere.
Response By: Sophia M.
Bud Gibbons is a painter, and the students at Banksville K-6 School enjoy his painting of a boy on a bike that is now hanging in our library. Gibbons is a very good artist, and he is also an art professor at Penn State New Kensington. The Pittsburgh artist used acrylic oil paint for “Boy on Bike.” Gibbons uses a lot of detail in this figure painting, and I think he based this work as a summer scene. The artist may have been inspired by thinking of himself when he was a little boy on a bike on the road somewhere. I think he paints with passion. This work is very large with a lot of detail, and Gibbons signed his name on the bottom of the canvas. I love the painting. It inspires me to be an artist when I grow up. To me, it looks like the boy heard something like a car, and looked, and then wanted to ride back to his house which may even be across the street in front of him.
Response By: Tursun P.
The artist, Bud Gibbons, used paint to describe his thoughts. Gibbons paints large because you can see from far away, the boy on his bike. I think that the boy on the bike is looking to make sure that a car is not behind him. He is also viewing the landscape behind him. This is a realistic painting because Gibbons must have seen this boy on the bike. I am noticing the details; even the mark on the sock is noticed. I like this art because I like the outdoors too. I ride my bike, too!
Critiques by the following students: Antonio H., Ian D., and Jose A.
We like the painting. We like to see the bike and how the artist painted the boy and his bike so realistically. We’ve never seen a painting like this before. It is nice to see the boy as he looks up and down the street. The artist has put much focus on showing the boy learning to ride just as we all had to focus on learning to ride our bikes. We also think there is a lot of feeling portrayed in this art work, and much enthusiasm. The boy in the painting could actually be the artist, Gibbons, as a child.