Debbie Clarke Art

My class notes from March 5, 2016.

2016-03-10T10:24:00.002-05:00

Next drawing class at the Rocky Neck Cultural Center is Saturday March 12, 9-12am. fee: $35.

contact debbieclarkeart@gmail.com; or cellphone 978-652-8273

What to bring: recent drawing(s) paper, pencil, white rubber eraser.
What I will bring: paper, pencil, white rubber eraser, pencil sharpener. Bucky's skull and alternative drawing media for exploration, including a length of crumpled white paper.
No prior drawing experience required.
local folk, kindly consider sharing this link. I am teaching because I have been asked to teach.

The space fee is $25/hour. I would like to have the space covered with a minimum of 2 students. any additional will go towards my $30 application fee for the Goetemann Residency on Rocky Neck this summer. thank you for helping with these initiatives by giving yourself the gift of drawing or 'how to see and think like an artist'.

Best, Deb

2016-03-02T08:48:00.001-05:00

Time is getting away from me. This is March and I forgot about this as I've been learning important things from my 22 month old grand daughter as she shakes her finger at me to say: "No pooping in the tubbie!" and in my case time to fish or cut bait.

So, Here it is, drawing classes beginning this Saturday at The Cultural Center on Rocky Neck in Gloucester. If I get commitments by Friday am, we're on. If not...later in the year or by private instruction. Onward, with a wet brush or sharp pencil, deb.

Drawing workshop with Debbie Clarke 9-11AM Saturdays beginning March 5th.
The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, Studio Gallery.
Learn how to see as an artist through the basics of observational drawing.
Space is limited, pre-registration encouraged.
$35 per class, pre-paid contact Debbie Clarke via phone 978-652-8273 or email at debbieclarkeart@gmail.com for material list and additional information.

Rocky Neck Art Colony Cultural Center

See these NOW through Nov 15

2015-10-23T09:57:00.000-04:00

Showing in gorgeous Lanesville MA. Take a trip along the shore

to the light filled Flatrocks Gallery.

best always, onward, deb.

ps: I publish on facebook, if you have a fb account

you can see my public posts there.

www.facebook.com/debbie.clarke.5011

The Head Keeps Moving

2015-03-27T08:21:00.001-04:00

mid week, last week, I started an observational self

portrait. below are the 3 stages over a few days.

aluminum leaf and drawing media on canvas

12x14" copyright clarke 2015

gloucester ma

above blocking in the big shapes. the head caught

between two gestures. I kept changing my mind.

midway, open mouth? closed mouth? where's

the center? lift the head, place it upon a column.

final. changed dynamic to finish, registering

the shock of losing Suzy. ambient light.

onwards,

deb.

Chrome Orange

2015-03-12T09:48:00.000-04:00

ChromeOrange is a standing self portrait, started last spring.

Above is the current state. Following are a few of the previous

states. Something kept bugging me. I finally have the figure

firmly planted on the floor and a fair resolution to the lower right.

The black chalk lines will change. It's not finished. I'll set it aside for

now. Paintings happen slowly and since I figure everything out on

the canvas, change is constant until it is signed.

This state could have worked; but the white chalk

bugged me, as well as the fight for space of the reds.

almost; except the painting kept dividing into two,

with a floor plane that wouldn't hold it's space. i loved

this state for about 2 hours.

Slip sliding away and feet of cement.This is where I put

the brush down last spring. The color bugged me.

This block headed monk is where it all started.

Any one of the various states would have been

fine. I'm not a millionaire, can you tell?

best,

and onward.

deb.

Dirty Snow

2015-03-09T07:24:00.001-04:00

Dirty Snow, a drawing. 12x14" on aluminum leaf on canvas.

The snow is melting, turning dirty with the slow melt. Yesterday

I finally finished a drawing of the house up the hill after a long

winter of looking at it every day. Looks pretty simple; HAH! It

gave me a good work out.

There is another canvas that is prepared with glare and aluminum

leaf. This morning's drawing will be this yellow house, again. The

house sold last fall. I had better have my visual say about this place

before the new owners move in and decide to paint it another color.

best and onward,

deb.

Painting: Cripple Cove lowtide

2015-03-06T10:22:00.000-05:00

Every once-in-awhile I have a go at the view towards Joey.

These are the remnants of the pier which burned down sometime

in the seventies. Wally's packing house once stood on these burnt

pilings stubs. I packed whiting there one very cold season when

I was just a girl and money packing fresh fish was good.

There were 2 paintings of this view. I killed one and kept the

best. 20x20" oil on canvas.

gloucester ma

feet on floor, eyes forward, brush-in-hand,

onward

deb.

FineArtAmerica Metal Print

2015-03-06T07:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the metal print of A Face I Remember arrived via UPS.

The original 5x5x.375" drawing with metal leaf drawing on the left.

8x8.875" metal print on the right. The drawing is strong enough to

hold the print together. The metal print is laminated onto the metal

then top coated with some type of acrylic. The print does not have

the warmth and depth of the original tile. I thought the metal plate

would be more present in the print. Oh, well. It is still a good thing.

Perhaps I will do a series of the tile under different light and then

order up some prints to use as the basis for new work.

The original is for sale, if interested contact me at debbieclarkeart@gmail.com.

If you would like to purchase prints, click the shopping cart link in the sidebar.
FineArtAmerica provides lots of choices from paper to canvas to cards to metal
to acrylic to frames, etc. Products are well packed and the ready to hang art looks
very professional. I can't produce this quality at the great prices they offer. All
produced in the U.S,

best,

deb.

Fresh Snow! Fresh Glue.

2015-03-05T10:56:00.002-05:00

Turn off the soundtrack, it is a distraction. Good directions. Fresh

snow is the chill ingredient in the recipe given by Ralph Mayer in

The Artist Handbook of Materials and Techniques. This glue stays sticky

for a long time. it has been written that if one lets the glare (egg glue)

go rotten; it can be used on a dry oil painting for gilding or preparation

for painting with egg tempera.

I have 7 12x14" stretched lightweight canvas to gild. There is freshly

made glare from Tuesday's snow in the fridge. There are 500

leaves of 6.24" x 6.24" aluminum leaf. A good day to prepare the

canvas for drawing upon.

best and onward,
deb

Surprise!

2015-03-04T10:48:00.001-05:00

Sorting through old image files and discovered this painting from 2004/2005. It's a color spot painting, a synthesis of Helen WanWyck's color recipes and Hawthorne's color approach, addressed through critiques in Hawthorne on Painting

I'm busy painting, while giving some time to online marketing.

feet on the floor,
eyes forward,
brush-in-hand.

best,
deb.

Cripple Cove Prints

2015-03-01T14:05:00.000-05:00

Last fall I started a series of distressed digital prints. I photographed the print on 10/1 and the date is imprinted on the photo of the distressed print. The prints of the prints will be offered for sale through FineArtsAmerica, as soon as I erase the date stamp. not sure why the date stamp was set. It detracts from the whole A link will be posted as soon as the images are available for sale

Best as always,

deb.

This would look great printed on Acrylic or Metal

2015-02-27T10:15:00.001-05:00

glass art for sale

2015-02-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! This is my first post of 2015 and I'm starting off the New Year by offering prints of my art for sale through FineArtAmerica. Spoons is a detail of a much larger painting that I frequently use as a 'source' for new compositions, etc.

Please take a moment and click through to the site. The bio has been updated, as well as, new offerings of the Ghosts of Versailles in the various work-in-progress states loved by so many, until i changed it. Seems change is the only constant in my art production.

There are no new shows in site, so I've decided to focus on some on-line marketing. I've spent most of today and yesterday updating, uploading and providing a few words to the tags, descriptions, etc. If you have always wanted a piece of my AHHT, here's your chance (at very reasonable prices).

BTW: If you are local and decide to purchase one of the prints, but want an original...get in touch with me. I can add an original signature, as well as, a few original brushstrokes, or metal leaf to the work so that you can have a 'one of a kind'.

Best to you as always,
feet on floor, eyes forward, brush in hand,
Deb

ps: I want to bombard the site with my work; but, have opted for a teaser. My plans are to update with new images once or twice a week. Maybe I can garner some interest and earn some dough to buy art supplies. onward. spoons acrylic prints and spoons acrylic art for sale spoons metal prints and spoons metal art for sale

New Work

2014-12-23T06:55:00.002-05:00

Another Face I remember, m/m with aluminum leaf on canvas.

10x10". I don't know who this is. a composite of many faces

observed throughout these many years. I had just finished this

when I heard news of a friend's passing. Then, a lone seagull

glowing pink and orange in sunset light passed overhead.

blessed dreams Susan Mackey.

Self Portrait, sort of an encounter with a personal

art history. 10x10" m/m on aluminum leaf on canvas.

This is an outgrowth of earlier 'tape' constructed drawings.

best to you with the Light of the Season

with blessings for a healthy and bright New Year's

to you and yours.

deb.

color or not

2014-12-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

the color and the gesture didn't get along. i've gone through work i've done during the past year and realize that the work i am happiest with has a limited palette and a strong gesture. i'll let up on myself know. the painting can use a bit more warmth. for the moment it has to dry.

detail of the center. there is magic here. the paint brush glides.

best and onward,

deb.

Ghosts of Versailles continues

2014-11-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

Have been working on this steadily since October 18 or thereabouts. It has been scrubbed down many times to the initial drawing. The sizes kept getting away from me. sometimes i got artsy, and the paint got sloppy and dirty and the medium wasn't right for a while, the paint was curdling. so, that had to be scraped down. Sizes feel right. still working out the gestures and twists. the feet look clumsy here, the painting looks more solid. there are some color changes that aren't showing up in this. will clean the brushes and give it one more go.

I never expected this baby would take this long to deliver. every day i wondered if this will be the day that it all comes together. it's not something that can be foretold.

best and onward,

deb.

Another Ghost of Versailles

2014-11-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

still working on the Ghosts of Versailles. This is a 20x20" oil on canvas that I banged out late yesterday afternoon. now, back to the other painting. It just isn't coming together in a way that feels right. This other painting gave me some clues. Will see how it goes today. changed up the palette with addition of alizarin and phthalo green to give some punch to the values.

best, and onwards,

deb.

Signed/unsigned

2014-11-09T15:59:00.000-05:00

i signed it today then crossed it out there is a freshness to the drawing that appeals to me. i will turn it to the wall and let it it dry for a few days. there is a fresh canvas that is triple primed with a burnt sienna imprimatura ready to go. will put it on the easel and move onto the next one of the ghosts of versailles. i think this painting feels very french. what do you think?

best and onwards,

deb

Ghosts of Versailles, continues

2014-11-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

I've moved some stuff around, enlarged a few shapes. got the big brush out yesterday. today i am glazing with raw sienna. oil on canvas 24x24"

So what have you been painting lately? having any more luck than i am?

best and onwards,
deb.

Ghost of Versailles re-grouping

2014-10-27T13:33:00.000-04:00

Added a new few new colors to the palette: manganese blue ad citron yellow. The manganese blue is not a true manganese, which darkens to green, it is a pthalo blue mixed to the hue of manganese. good in tints. the citron yellow is a chrome or zinc yellow, not sure. used to brighten ochre. raw umber: a very dark yellow, burnt umber is the darkest yellow. burnt sienna, the darkest orange, grumbacher red, a true red, neither blue, nor orange in tint or mixture. titanium white. french ultramarine dark. i can bust out a lot of color with these babies.

This morning the grid was returned to, re-sized the masses, eliminated some stuff, beefed up the whites. This is the oddest painting I have ever worked on. Still trying to live up to my potential.

best, and onwards,

deb

Ghost of Versailles..and Benjamin Franklin's balloon.

2014-10-26T11:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Nova featured the making of Ben Franklin's balloon at Versaille. Part of the program was about the colors that the were used to create King Louis' gold on a blue background. There were very strict recipes. The blue was a cobalt base, the golds were shades of ochre. Very good...it confirmed my instincts about painting that gold tone.

This morning I've started introducing the deepest ochres.

My right hand likes to go fast with the brush. The canvas is only 24x24" and I don't want sloppy drippy stuff going on all over the place. It is very challenging for me as the right hand has an innate knowledge, and I keep saying, not yet, we'll save the best for last.

Below are various details of the painting, any of which, could stand alone as a painting. Sometimes I fall in love small sections of a painting and decide to rework an entire painting around that one small section. Instead of starting another painting, or derailing the work in progress, the prints of these details get re-worked into monotypes.

best, and onward

deb.

Ghosts of Versailles

2014-10-25T19:21:00.000-04:00

This is a work in progress, an oil painting of my friend Paula and I in the Hall of Mirrors, on the left, and a bunch of tourists. The work is progressing slowly, I'm holding back on a heavy handed brush with this one.

Almost daily updates are updated on facebook. I'm debbie.clarke.5011,

My daughter Elizabeth has asked me to start posting less on facebook and to

start blogging, so here I am.

best, and onward

deb.

Perch with a View!

2014-08-01T10:22:00.001-04:00

This morning I realized that there is an endless supply of figures

to reference, right outside my window! The sidewalk

widens directly across the street to the view of the Cripple Cove, all the

way to Magnolia. Folk frequently stop to gawk, gab, admire, meditate.

This morning there was a woman that never stopped moving.

I kept trying to draw the landscape. duh. figures are more dyamic.

best and onward,

deb.

Ghost of Versailles.

2014-07-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

it was hot, last summer. the gardens, dusty, the winds out of Africa. You have to see the Hall of Mirrors, You have to see the Hall of Mirrors. We did. It was crowded. It glittered. We took pictures. A document. We were hot. We were thirsty. We sat at a dainty table. ordered some polite afternoon refreshment. Versailles closed. I was within 30 feet of that brown giant of Napoleon taking the crown from the Pope. just 30 feet. and I really wanted to see it. to glean something. Josephine, I had seen. maybe that's all I needed to see. I cried to Paula, I get it. please, no more brown paintings. Rubens had turned into a pasty bore. My potato nosed lover was not a consolation. Do not remember the Vermeer, other than to say 'it is very small.' and the walls were red. or not. too much, too much.

the photos haunt me. how to turn this delicate drawing into a 'something' is on my mind.

a tornado hit Revere this morning. just a spit across the water.

i was supposed to be drawing. it is I. and Paula. and a bunch of ghosts...err..tourists.

best,

deb.

The Scent of Paint.

2014-05-22T12:08:00.001-04:00

my studio is in my kitchen. the oil paint gets messy. i have nearby

sheets of blotting paper to cover this up when i am done working for

the day. i don't need inspiration to work. i just work. right now i'm

still working on the 22" square with the standing figure. it's leaning

against a gold verre eglomise of keys. it's not finished.

this morning the scent of the paint was a bit heavy in the kitchen.

i took the paper off the palette. got out the easel and started to work.

decided to take the figure off the center of the canvas. re drawing,

trying to relate some color notes. not too picky. just trying to

stay out of the center.

2 hours this morning brings me to this. i will leave the set up for a bit.

go for a short walk. have some lunch. and start again. i have six hours

to paint. or stretch another canvas. maybe both.

best, and onward.

deb.