Gloucester Beginnings

i was born on the centennial hill with a view overlooking the high school, the river, the marsh and onwards to the west gloucester hills.


mumu's house. she had the upstairs. various assortments of aunts, uncles, cousins lived downstairs. the front room was only used on the holidays. all other times sheets covered the furniture. the living happened in the kitchen and the dining room. flush toilet. bathing facilities: a round tub on the floor in front of the stove.

Brilliant Idea of the Day!

i want to paint the story of my family and friends on cape ann by painting/photographing various houses of said family and friends, then attach short paragraph to each image. the paintings will reflect the way i 'knew' the house, the photo will show the state of things today, the paragraph will be my sojourn.

PROGRESS REPORT:
location
anna's studio: photoed and up-loaded to lj on 3/11/2008
beacon/centennial hill house: photoed and up-loaded 3/11/2008 blogger & lj
east main street: photoed and up-loaded 3/11/2008 to lj
mumu's house: photoed and up-loaded 3/11/2008 to lj and the magpie nest
pine street: photoed and up-loaded 3/11/2008 to lj
sadler street: photoed and up-loaded 3/11/2008 to lj

TO DO:
location:
alper road: no longer exists, now haven terrace
atlantic street
bass ave
blackburn studio
burned house
capel's
concord st
east gloucester square
haskell street
jebeka lane
katy's house
lexington ave studios
linsky's house
magnolia ave
main street studios
maple rd
marble rd
nana's house
nancy's house
Niemi's friend st, western ave
norman ave
pew court: which no longer exists. contact museum librarian
pigeon cove where mum was born
ramon's
richard's
rio drive
rocky neck
rosie's
sadler street
school street
summer street
the bars
the brick
the cottage
the gas station
the irish mariner
the ramparts
tia's apartments
renee's house
totten lane
uncle moe's house
wittemore house

wow, how many breaths do i have?

Alek Razdan and A Train

Alek is a 15 year old sax sensation. My partner David 'doc' Vincent is the drummer in A Train. They are working on their new CD "Something Different". I just listened to their version of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Volunteered Slavery" and it just knocked my socks off. If you like jazz, go take a listen!

Artist on Art: Summer 2005

This digital print is an accident from the summer of 2005. The self portrait painting in the window is what I saw through the lense of my Olympus. The Camedia revealed something else. Manipulated via crop only. There are a few more images in this series. 5x5" prints, archival Epsom inks on acid free paper, mounted on cradled board. limited signed edition $100 each.

Up-coming workshop at the Flint Library

I will offer a two day workshop to older children and teens. We will explore various drawing materials from brush to pencil, charcoal on paper and papercutting.

The Lottery Paperdolls: Pinball Wizard

Re-Purposed spent lottery tickets. free-standing paperdolls. first batch shipped yesterday. second batch ships today. some stand solo within the cello wrap. weight bottom with hairpins.

looking at shadows

my eyes continue to work. i'm looking at shadows. in paint the light is yellow and the shadow is violet. my photo editor is not very sophisticated. may move to a gray value format, much more useful for painting. this photo is useful. sort of primal. the set-up is always there, after dark. the light source is fixed. the model does not move. my $100 camera shows its limitations, the depth of field cannot be finely adjusted. i finally, after 30 odd years, get the depth of field. when painting the eye moves around, the experience is in and out of space. my camera flattens it out. this is okay, because i like the tension between linear surface and a perceived depth, either through perspective, thickness/pressure in the application of the paint, value, hue and intensity. something is forward, because something is behind, and then the ambiquity of visually beside.

all of these last arguments must be left for the time when i have a loaded brush, a canvas, a wash bucket, some soap and water and some good clean lines.

Summer in the Nation's Oldest Working Art Colony

There are lots of live/work gallery spaces available on Rocky Neck in Gloucester MA for the 2008 summer season. click the title link to find out more, there are lots of great pics of available digs. If you want to live and work in a beautiful summer place, this is it. Sales? Some artists sell, some don't. The tourists come here to see the art, so if you have what they want, it is worth it.

I can't afford any of these spaces. I know very few artists that can afford this kind of money for short term space. My studio rent in under $500 a month. It is a shared studio space, and off the beaten path in the Magnolia section of Gloucester. Occassionally the tourists find me, but very few buy. Why? because I don't sell any $25 re-prints of my work. Originals only. and the work in progress is usually not what they are looking for. Seascapes and landscapes capture my interest for short spurts throughout the year,then I go back to what I love. process, not product. Most buyors of art around here don't get that. They want the quaint, the over the couch, art that sits on the wall requiring minimal engagement with the work. When folk visit I use it as an opportunity to educate them about the making of art.

Heh...a few visitors last year got very angry with me because I do not sell prints of my work. One day, perhaps I will. When money is a bit more abundant and not dedicated to paying rent, transportation, art supplies and food.

2006/07 'life on the river' mixed media, egg tempera

http://www.google.com/base/a/3321073/D15893999284168136380

the code above leads one to a description of my first product listed on google base. this will appear for 31 days. then, it will come down. i can post a lot of items. 10 is a good start. looks like i have my work cut out for the weekend.

this is the end of my 6 hours marketing today.
my accomplishments: answered email.
uploaded and later found my product via google web search.
visited lj, made a few comments. (not technically business, although one comment was business related. this comment to [lj user="absolutearts"], and another was in response to a fellow ljr's experience setting up etsy, and another earlier one was about another ljr's comment to my blogspot.

noted: Big Red and Shiny has produced two responses. very good.

a few folk have left through my photobucket.com account. i must reconsider an earlier decision to keep the account private. i can go through and make some albums public. again, something for this weekend, or start tomorrow night.

tomorrow: check in on the youtube developments.

and consider entering a laptop with my website address in a show that has limited wall space, although they want 2d images. thinking, thinking, thinking i am brilliant.

google, google, googling, googling

business update:

my on-line marketing adventures continue through google. today i discovered my old business flagged on google maps, along with the Randomarts Studio (where i still have my studio). i up-dated my listing through the google map with all pertinent details and a picture of one of my fish paintings from the Cape Ann Historical Museum. the new debbie clarke studio flag will appear on the google map in about four weeks. very good.

google then suggested that i list my products in the google base.
i set up the base account.
now i can start listing items that i am selling for free. the listings will appear in google product search, as well as, google web search. the posting of items helps google improve google as it classifies all of the world's resources, including people.

the next step, before i start up-loading my items, is to determine the correct rich text attributes to use. looks like i need to spend some time poking around in the art products to find out how others are describing their work. if i can get it right my reverse glass work should show up along with queries for gold leaf.

i up-dated my artist profile on the blog to include a bit about my art, my inspiration, what i do. and the critical: all of my studio inventory is for sale. and commissions are considered.

i am too pooped right now to do anymore.
i work on my marketing every day (6 hour average). one day i want to get back to painting. but right now i really need to make some money. so, my art is made from whatever is at hand. the camera, the paperdolls.

A few quick oil studies from summer 2007

Looking Towards the Rudder 2007

Beacon Marine across the cove 2007

Magnolia Pier 2007

quoting The Bollenberg

Thursday, February 14, 2008

valentine

this is from a very aged, overly ripened journal that now has a thick layer of mold and teenage angst weighing down its pages. circa 2002, a very fine year. i was 18, and just as bitter then as i am now. how refreshing!

Tuesday, February 12th, 2002

on the thought of roses, flowers, chocolates, love, hearts, cards, bitterness, nausea, and some minor fatigue....

...the day of romance approaches!

one supposed story of valentine speaks of him as a christian doomed to die in a coliseum. before he was sent off to be torn to shreds by lions and gladiators, he wrote a love letter. the catholic church (in conjunction and partnership with hallmark and Trojan condoms) made him a saint, although with a name like "valentine" he most likely was writing to his sweetheart Brutus which is a most uncatholic thing to do and therefore very much to my own approval.

no matter.

this v day im off to baby sit the little boy that puked on me last sunday. after disinfecting myself, i do however intend to twirl around my own bed room in a truly sensational lacey getup while adorned by a beaded crown ive had since the 4th grade and high heels from my 8th grade semi formal...this shall be initiated by the playing of abba's "dancing queen" and other various romantic compilations. possibly some divinyls in the mix as well.

the mere thought of myself doing that is the perfect thing to ruin any passionate and amorous expectations and desires that myself (or other unfortunates reading this entry) have of this day to come. it's a step above drinking alone and sobbing to your cat, but after the imagery presented above, you just might find yourself one rung higher on the proverbial ladder of self deprivation.

drink deeply friends and happy, happy humping.

copyright elizabeth bollenberg, all rights reserved 2008

rich life 2007

Paper Dolls

busy, busy, busy.

The winners are: Latharia, Inner Reflection, Deelight, Susan, September Bird.

Gotta get ready for work now. Will update with more information later today with a big surprise!

Paper Dolls First cut

Francis Bacon Studio, and I thought I made a mess!

Paper Doll Paper

Freshly pressed hand dyed, waxed rice paper, folded, ready to be cut into paper dolls.

One World One Heart Blog giveaway

Update 2/12/2008: I am overwhelmed by the response to this! I have seen so many beautiful blogs by visiting the sites referenced in your comments here. I have learned that I do not know how to respond to individual comments left in my blog. I have entered very few of the giveaways, because I have been downsizing my possessions since my husband died 5 years ago. First our apartment, with all furniture except beds was unloaded. Then I and my daughter (now 24 and in art school, graduating in May if we can keep up finances) moved in with a friend of mine. Moved with this friend two years later to another house and downsized further. Last year I moved into my significant other's apartment (small, small, small) and downsized further. I still have more stuff to unload, including a 40 year inventory of art. SO....do not be offended if I did not enter. There are so many wonderful things out there. The giveaways I entered are for items that, should I win, I know to whom I will give them to.

Drawing time: 11:59 pm 2/13/2008. I will pick winners for original paper dolls.

I will give away as many freehand, freestanding paper dolls as i can by the end of february.
made from hand dyed, waxed rice papers.
paper dolls range in size and format. following are samples from my last giveaway to friends at my LiveJournal.









to receive one, comment here and send pertinent address to elli01930@yahoo.com

Self Portrait at 54

Gone Bananas!

reconsidering diebenkorn

My Rich Life

Above: Debbie gets Diebenkorn
Digi Print FOR SALE




debbie clarke reconsiders diebenkorn. above/below digi prints FOR SALE

my reading list.

Below:There is a Debbie order to this. Coil Head Doll photo byphotographer Cynthia Capone (collection of Debbie Clarke)

Below: Shrine to the Heart of Love, in my bedroom.

FOR SALE: wire drawings on mirror with wax and gilt. HA! We made a 15 minute mad dash through Shambala
in Central Square last Saturday morning. SCORE!

wave of my possessions. paper, wood,hot water bottle

Gilding the 3rd Eye mini

This is the mini or what could be called 'the rush' for the longer Gilding the 3rd Eye.

Gilding the 3rd Eye

another 'short shot' in the 'hands to work' series. this is the long version

hands at work

Another 'Short Shot' is in the works. The short video will show how I apply silver leaf to a panel using acrylic paint and medium.

blue women

The large panel on the right is now installed in the studio window. It is reverse oil on glass with gold and other metal leaf. This was started in 1996, last worked on in 2000, i am going to finish it. There was an underlying myth, now forgotten, along with a reference to walking on water. What will it look like finished?

"3rd Eye" mixed media on manipulated digital self portrait,

What I did today:
I mounted this 5x5" digital print of this manipulated photo onto a 5x5" panel.


I layered silver leaf, gel medium, gloss medium, and acrylic paint onto the print.
I scraped through the layers.
I added many phthalo acrylic glazes.
I scanned the image into the computer and here it is.



copyright Debbie Clarke
2008
Gloucester MA

$175

Foiled Oils: Self Portraits 2007

this 20x20" self portrait gives me peace:



This is large 40x60"(?), another self portrait. I keep thinking about going back into it and introducing color, as well as, defining the features:


The following image is about the same size as the one above, another self-portrait that carries the same nagging feeling about going back into it:


The media is oil on linen with gold, silver, aluminum and combination leaf. These back-lit self portraits carry a retinal memory of The Revenant painting and drawings by Andrew Wyeth. I saw the work in one of the comprehensive catalogues of his work and have never been able to rid myself of his shadow when doing self portraits.

To meet and then Exceed my Own Expectations

Today I finally loaded some artwork onto my Saatchi Gallery site. This is the beginning. I plan to sell off all of my artwork. One of my marketing plans is to make my name synonymous with my nom de plume: pbsage. Pbsage is a unique identity that consistently appears with my work on the internet. A query of my real name Debbie Clarke hits way too many sites with Clark's, Debbie's, Debra's, Deborah's, many countries. pbsage is synonymous with just me. Debbie Clarke in Gloucester MA.

here's another artwork:



This approximately 18x20, oil on canvas. Completed 2006.
I like this painting alot. It has retinal memory, as well as, word associations. the soup tureen is more important to me than the painting. This painting is one of many that I could do of the soup tureen. The tureen is one unto itself, with it's own story. The tureen was scouped up at a church fair 10 or so years ago. It's ladel appeared with a big red ribbon as a Christmas present from one of my church school students. The tureen was then put to use as a teaching guide for my drawing students. I did 15 or so studies of this and many, many, teaching drawings. There are only a few left.

This painting will be priced at $1300. If someone wants to buy the tureen with the accompanying provenance, along with the painting, the price will be $4000. Why? Because part of my muse's livelihood will be taken from me.

Active Healing for ADHD and other brain developmental disorders

http://www.wickedlocal.com/beverly/archive/x481173251
Magnolia's Active Healing Center
http://www.activehealing.org

Active Healing is near my studio. Everyday that I have worked in my Lexington Avenue studio during the past 10 years I have seen the results of this work. They are patient, gentle, firm. The children, teens and the adults that work with them are mighty forces of joy. I have seen the autistic children learn to walk down the street and respond to external stimula, enabling children to overcome fears of intersections and cracks in the sidewalk, they learn to cross streets, look people in the eye, improve coordination, manage outbursts, become coordinated and so many other tactile, social issues.

One gentle child that placed her hand to my window was named Patience. She was radiant in her quietude.

PthaloBlue: when we lived on the river

oil and metal leaf on canvas. 48x54" (approx)
copyright 2007
debbie clarke
gloucester ma

the painting was finished mid-stride.
one moment the brush was loaded with red
the next moment the brush stopped
at the halfway point
between
it
and
me
the painting sounded
stop

today i noticed the dried red brush stuck to it's puddle of paint.
this painting is finished.
it can now leave my studio.
it only needs a wall
somewhere.

music during the painting cycle: Euphoria "lost on a river"

bananas, a dead rat, perfume and numbers

the store still carries the underlying musk of dead rat. yuck. two days working (yesterday and today) and my head is full of the stench. it's not real strong anymore, yet the scent becomes cumulative. it is a too strong attar, as civet and hungarian rose (while the best for long term under notes in perfumes) are a sickening aroma in pure attar. we keep burning incense heavy in sandalwood. it is making the musk darker. tried lavendar, it bites the nose, lemon too sweet, frankencense, too heady.

any ideas? i kept the door open today until it got too chill. my friend Sue suggested cooking tomato soup in the space.

and my head is full of pages and pages and pages of numbers. inventory time. the gray matter still chunks away at numbers like the pro i used to be when determining co-pays during my years as an insurance underwriter.

s

Bananas

We started smelling the musk two weeks ago. Last week we confirmed the musk was the rotting carcass of a rat caught between the floorboards. Ozium, Incense, closing vents helped, but did not eliminate the scent. The rats moved from the fire zone of the Lorraine Apartments to find housing in the basement grooves of the downhill Main Street stores.

When I opened the store yesterday the first thing that hit me was the underlying musk. It is not as bad as last week and the vintage clothes have not retained the scent. The scent, however, has remained in my head. yuck.

It is warm today. I will open the door to catch the fresh air. I hope the stench leaves soon, it gives me a headache.

Red Studio

This time last year, everything I painted was red. There aren't many choices when it comes to painting, paintings are either warm or cool or neutral. and that is all there is. Anything else is a garbage pizza.

The Beacon Marine

JANUARY 2008

The Bookstore of Gloucester at 61 Main Street, Gloucester MA features Gloucester artist Debbie Clarke's "Summer views 2007", oil studies on canvas. Debbie's work is in many local collections, including The Cape Ann Historical Museum's "Fisheries" collection.

For additional info about the artwork email to elli01930@yahoo.com

i was going to draw

eb and meg went for the christmas tree. the patriots were on and ellen needed the Direct TV reset. i was hero. the girls were heroes. the patriots won. it was the twenty third of december.