inspiration monday and new facebook page

inspiration monday- sculptor ann weber
I love these, the the organic forms - swelling, constricting, the sense of off kilter totter-y balance.
i also love the elemental quality of the material, just cardboard and staples.
she'll have work at the artMRKT this week, in san francisco and at a show at dolby chadwick later in the month
here's a link with more info...
ann weber

ann weber

facebook
Just to let you know…. (if you're not a facebook-y kind of a person).

I have started a new facebook page, claire b cotts art.

It will be away for me to posts inspiration, goings on, thoughts and general musings, without having to send out a deluge emails through my blog.
(It's a separate page from my personal facebook page, enabling me to continue posting videos of squirrels riding monkeys, etc)

All you have to do, is go to claire b cotts art  on facebook and hit "like".
:-)

inspiration monday

i'm in love…..

it took me a while to catch on to pinterest, but for an artist, it's amazing way to collect images, discover new artists and new affinities, and fundamentally waste large chunks of time and yet still feel quasi-virtuous and productive.
one thing I have always loved is sculpture - in many ways, I'm more interested in creating sculpture and making physical objects than painting.

After a long stint of heavy duty painting of abstracts, I'm looking forward to doing figurative work, and trying my hand at figurative sculpture.
Sharing some of my new inspirations - drum roll….introducing inspiration monday!

agnes baillon 

mère et filles

I really like the work of the sculptors olivia musgrave and agnes baillon - they remind me a bit of marino marini, and have that quality of volume, solidity, tenderness and quiet subdued emotion that interests me in artwork.you can see some images of their work on my pinterest board.

here is the link to my pinterest boards….
http://pinterest.com/clairebcotts/
http://pinterest.com/clairebcotts/sculpture/
(the categories are fuzzy, much of what interests me days straddles illustration and fine art.)

and here is a very nice video of olivia musgrave in her studio.
olivia musgrave - taking flight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKXT0S8CGnA

annual sfmoma artist gallery 1/2 off warehouse sale!

the nightingale's egg

mixed media collage

click to see large

It's that time again!
annual SFMOMA artist gallery 1/2 off warehouse sale!
Lots of bargains on art work - I'll be there volunteering the first night, at the gala opening.
http://www.sfmoma.org/visit/artists_gallery/artists_gallery_exhibitions - scroll down for details
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhib_events/events/2288


Twentieth Annual Artists Warehouse Sale

A huge selection of original artworks at a savings of up to 75 percent!
Five Days Only
May 8 - 12, 2013

Opening night: Wednesday, May 8, 2013
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Be among the first to shop this annual sale, now in its twentieth year. With two venues of over 7,000 square feet filled with works by three hundred participating artists, it's your first chance to purchase at incredible savings. Opening night admission: $10 at the door; free for SFMOMA members.

Additional sale hours:

Thursday, May 9, noon - 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 10, noon - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 11, noon - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 12, noon - 4:00 p.m.

arabesque

 arabesque

acrylic on panel

48" x 76" (diptych)

click image to enlarge

 arabesque

(detail)

click image to enlarge

 arabesque

acrylic on panel

48" x 76"

click image to enlarge

pictures from an exhibition

some photos from the exhibit now up at the nüart gallery, in santa fe.

the show looks beautiful- it's always a surprise to see all the work together, on clean white walls, outside of the squalor of the studio

last minute -signing the paintings

Spring branches and willow withies, gathered from a beaver pond in a wildlife area outside the city, the afternoon of the opening.  Leaving the park, I realized I couldn't find the keys to my rental car….. Racing back along trails, eyes darting back and forth, by a miracle of providence, I found them at the edge of a marsh.

Happiest moment of my life! Zipped back just in time to change and make the opening.  Phew!

with a beautiful bouquet from my mother and sister (thanks!)

new work - "the winter palace"

the winter palace
acrylic on panel
36" x 96 - (diptych)
(click to see large)

the winter palace

acrylic on panel - detail

(click to see large)

the winter palace

acrylic on panel - detail

(click to see large)

the winter palace

acrylic on panel - detail

(click to see large)

A little unusual - a much lighter color palette than I usually use, and a new format,

a long tableau. I think the feeling and the title perhaps derives from what 

I was listening to while I painted it this winter - a lot of Russian history and fiction.

Boris Akunin, Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie, 

Dostoyevsky and more.  Inspiration from onion domes and winter white and from some

 of Diebenkorn's wonderful abstracts. (plus it was SO cold in my studio!)

Exhibit and new work - the river is…...

"the river is so much swifter, 

so much darker, so much colder than you think"

48" x 72" (diptych)

(click to see large)

I'll be having a solo show of my work in april, at the Nüart Gallery in Santa Fe.

everything that rises

april 12th  -  28th 2013

opening reception april 12th  5 pm to 7 pm

you can see some of the new paintings here

nüart exhibit

and additional work here -

additional paintings

I will also be posting the new work, with details, to my website and blog.

the river is…..  (detail)

(click to see large)

the river is…..  (detail)

(click to see large)

the river is…..  (detail)

(click to see large)

the rubber band girl

Last year, I was commissioned to create a portrait to be used as a jacket cover for author Jennifer Nielson's book "The Rubber Band Girl".  The book is about the experience of raising her daughter, Hadley, who was diagnosed with Marfan’s syndrome.  You can read more about the book and learn about Marfan's syndrome at her site

the rubber band girl

Nuart Gallery, Santa Fe

I've forget to mention, I'm very pleased to  announce that my work is now represented by Nüart Gallery, in Santa Fe.  They have wonderful work, both abstract and figurative.

Nüart Gallery

T for Tansy

new work

T for Tansy

acrylic on canvas

48" x 72" (diptych)

click to enlarge

T for Tansy

detail

click to enlarge

new abstract paintings and workshops

here is a batch of the most recent abstract paintings, which just got shipped off to santa fe last week......

carnival

acrylic on panel

36" x 48"

click to see detail

carnival 

(detail)

click to see large

at first thought

acrylic on panel

36" x 48"

click to see detail

at first thought

(detail)

click to see large

vespers

acrylic on panel

36" x 48"

click to see detail

vespers

(detail)

click to see large

even song

acrylic on panel

36" x 48"

click to see detail

even song

(detail)

click to see large

tangle

acrylic on panel

36" x 48"

click to see detail

tangle

(detail)

click to see large

placed together as a diptych.....

 

studio shot - work in progress

new work - portraits

aaron at the aquarium

acrylic on panel

click to see large

aaron at the aquarium - detail

acrylic on panel

click to see large

maxine (morning)

acrylic on panel

click to see large

maxine (morning) - detail

acrylic on panel

click to see large

zane (twilight)

acrylic on panel

click to see large

zane (twilight) - detail

acrylic on panel

click to see large

conrad (dusk)

acrylic on panel

click to see large

conrad (dusk) - detail

acrylic on panel

click to see large

The last three portraits, two brothers and a sister, I wanted to work together as a group, as well as individual portraits.  

I set them at three different times of the year, and three different times of the day, with a little something in each that reflects something about that child.