June said: You gotta see this artist's house!

it is so inspiring!

i replied.

and i should have shown them that one.
and elizabeth said i should hang that one.

David said: Why didn't you show them this one?

...oh, he means the one on the right.

Progress Report: New Work, 1st and 2nd light

"Jahna's Chicken" 10x10"
egg tempera and silver leaf on panel
copyright debbie clarke 2008

"Elizabeth's Cardinal" 10x10"
egg tempera and silver leaf on panel
copyright debbie clarke 2008

Progress Report: The Trapper John and The Dog & I drawing

This drawing is done. needs to be sealed. then the final light will be applied. stay tuned.
"Trapper John and The Dog & I" 30x32" copyright debbie clarke 2008, gloucester ma. chalk, aluminum leaf, wax, sharpie on canvas.

oh,

and
I must send off thank you notes.
will do.

fitting all of the pieces together

i'm re-doing my portfolio, smaller images, more reference information such as:
where is the work now?
year, media
consistent titles on all portfolios
sending a copy to update my files at the museum and any galleries that used to show my work.
will send the up-dated version to new york

wow.
pats self on back.

art marketing 101

here are some descriptive words about painting that i found in the Gallery Guide inre:gestural abstraction

the older generation: 'angst ridden'
'crusty surfaces and tortured brushwork'

the young painter: 'thoroughly joyful'
'a spirit of improvisation and spontaneity.'

the shoes that flew to ny, er...took the trains

KAT and Eye on W25th Street

we took in a lot of work straight out of the marketing machine. the work looks pretty. lots of technical expertise with exuberance. painting after painting, show after show of artists doing the same painting over and over again. even when there was lots of color, the overall 'show' turned bland before my eyes. disappointed. i wanted 'more of it', but saw no it. i kept thinking: 'slick and big, but, are they having any fun?'

KAT and I had a lot of fun during the whirlind of my 24 hours in NY. we talked art constantly from media to marketing to the 'it'. you gotta have the 'it' to be the 'it' girl. but you gotta have a bit more than 'it', you gotta have some grit, some determination, some stick to purpose, some artistic fortitude and endurance to keep making art after the 'it' has lost some of its shine.

i walked alot in my orange nike slippers and i got no blisters this time.
the 7 1/2 train ride home was the most exhausting part of the trip. oh, and The Gallery was closed, but i didn't know it until after i rang the bell, but they invited me in for a preview of the emerging talents they are hanging for their season opener. i was very quiet and looked around, then left. oh, and i left my book.

i went to the Guggenheim and saw Louise B's work. got vertigo at the top. and i love the Rheinhardt Black painting just the way it was. they should never have tried to restore it. as in fabric such as silk, it is in art, the slubs and nubs are inherent to the material.

i think i'll put a note on the back of my work: keep your hands off it!

oh, and i took a 50' taxi ride to the Guggenheim. momentarily disoriented i jumped in a cab and asked him to take me. he didn't turn on the meter and drove 50' to the curb. it was right there hidden behind the tree i was walking by. 'here you are.' he said to me. i started laughing so hard, i said how much? he waved his hand. he was laughing. i said 'let me at least buy you a cup of coffee.' so i took some folded ones and handed them to him. the last i saw of the cabbie he waved and laughed then shook his head and said 'I love you!'. good-bye. i hope i gave him enough ones for a cup of joe.

keep thinking about LB's work with a warning shot: if you got any daddy issues, you better get over them, or you will still be dealing with them, working it out out when you are 97.

New York City bound

going to the city this week
taking my book
gonna have a look around
thought about the ferry
maybe not
not much time to knock around
re-visiting the holy ghosts
gonna take a look around
see some work
take a gander at the Dali
The Balthus
some Joan Mitchell
la vie en rose
the big pink
near the Diebenkorn
gonna take my book
size things up
place the
book
in some hands
for eyes to see
nyc,
maybe

a call
will
come
back
or
not
but gonna try.

Trapper John, work in progress, as of 9/01/2008

Eye on Main: Bananas Labor Day window

Eye on Main: Main Exchange August offerings

Work in Progress:minus Dog&I and Trapper John

Two views, same painting.
The egg wash and chalk drawing is completely covered in 1-3 layers of aluminum leaf, adhered with gelatin slurry . I am in the process of burnishing the surface with cotton wool to reveal the images beneath the aluminum leaf.

There is a tradition of devotional art in which the sacred is visited through repitious acts, such as tending the altar every day. I have seen Shiva altars in which layer upon layer of silver or gold leaf is encrusted inches thick on the yoni/linga. This painting reminds me of the practice. The aluminum leaf will continue to be added until the Dog&I and the Trapper John become iconic. Sometimes the light hits this canvas and I am momentarily blinded by the brilliance.

Can you see what I see?

Trapper John, work in progress

The Trapper John minus Dog & I. still drawing, constructing the picture plane. media: chalk, egg yolk, gelatin slurry, aluminum leaf. it changes with the light.

SOLD! "Hake" oil on reverse glass with metal leaf

Yes! Sold this painting last week. This photo was taken when the painting was first started, I need to get a final photo. It is extremely dimensional, and is highly mirrored. It is now owned by the folks that have been collecting my work since the 80's. They call their gallery wall the "Debbie Clarke Museum". This is the first glass piece that they have purchased. They are also looking at the new foil paintings for their next addition, which will be within the next few years.

"Dog and I" work in progress

This is the view. The tide comes in, the tide goes out, the boats come in, the boats go out, the boats rise and fall below the pier.

This is the first new work from my new nest. It is chalk, egg yolk, gelatin, aluminum leaf. 30x32inches on acrylic primed cotton duck.

Dog and I detail: The Dog and I (it will be yellow with green)

Dog and I detail: The Trapper John.

Sort of academic with a twist, a painterly drawing? some compositional dynamics to work out, then onto the next.

fat boy on main street: the bazaar

I have been storing this big blue faced cichlid from Lake Tanganyika in Bananas for a month or so. Today, I put it out on the sidewalk. I had asked for $4500. Today I said any reasonable offer around $1000. Got lots of bites. show possibilities. sales interest. very good, very good. will bring some more paintings in tomorrow.

EB will take some high quality digital photos tomorrow. She wants to document my work and make the images available for reproduction.

wow.
way opens.

Moving update

We moved in a month ago. Have intermittent internet access. I need to decide whether to continue use of the free linksys or purchase access through verizon or somebody else. do not want to tie myself to a landline. do not need another monthly bill. but, I need something reliable. another day.

Have moved most of my paintings from the first floor of my studio. there are several tall glass panels tucked into the corner that need to be moved, but before i can do that, I need to decide where they will go and make room. the studio here at home is not ready to work in. my "upstairs inventory" needs to be moved. personal possessions EB and I packed away 5 years ago need to be moved: boxes of my little ponies, my paper morgue (from art school!) do I still need the morgue? when's the last time i looked in there? 10 years ago?

the rains have stopped. My garden blooms with marigolds and zinnias and coreopsis and phlox and coneflowere, and, and, and...

until the next time the signal gods grant me a hearing.

maybe i will paint soon,