Michael Clark - mclarkpainter

2008-09-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Trying to catch up......

In May I had the chance to go to Space camp with Abby and her class from school. We rode the train 20 hours each way. Yea, fun, 30 kids all the way to Kansas. A week in the dorms and more space information than one could ever want. The most commonly asked question is why in Kansas. I have no idea. However the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center is one of the coolest things I have ever seen or taken part in. They have the Apollo 13 real space capsule and tons of other authentic space goodies. If you ever find your self on a road trip stop by. The space stuff was cool, but the best part of the adventure was getting to hang out with Abby.

2008-04-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

The first quarter of the year went well. I experimented with some new drawing techniques. Using a skill saw to make marks and textures. It was interesting and I like the outcome. It was harder to erase than traditional media though.

I also made a trek to St. George to ride Gooseberry mesa with my brothers in law. It was more fun this year with some bike experience under my belt. Challenging and some of the most beautiful views in the world.

2007-12-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

MICHAEL CLARK

Artist Statement

When making these Rothkoesk, more minimalist works, my inspiration came from the horizontal lines and large fields of color found in the landscape that describe a vast panoramic view. The addition of texture, physical as well as visual, represents to me the up close and personal landscape. For example, the walls of a rock cliff, the side of a canyon, or even a rock mound at the state park. Landscape you can put your hands on.

To me, this combination of vast panoramic vistas coupled with the personal and textural qualities, give these pieces a life and environment of their own. Although these pieces start out as landscapes in my mind, they finish up as something else: they become their own reality less about landscape and more about paint and texture, beauty and history.

Beauty today is esteemed by the perfectness of a thing. Or, in reality, perfection is achieved by the ability to cover up imperfections. Images are airbrushed, cropping and filters are used, all with the purpose of making a more acceptable and palatable image.

To create works using rough and uneven textures, materials that are typically discarded, sand and earth, areas of paint that have worn off allowing past marks of history to show through, is rewarding because it celebrates beauty in its imperfections. All these imperfections work together to create beautiful and interesting visual works.

2007-11-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

Some new images.

BeigeBaseCreamSquare
Mixed Media on Canvas
30" x 30"

GraywithRed
Mixed Media on Canvas
36" x 44"

2007-11-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

My work was introduced to Michael Costello and Daryl Childs in August of 2007 in their downtown Phoenix, Arizona gallery. In November I delivered 20 works to their gallery. I am pleased and excited to be working with Costello-Childs Contemporary Fine Art. Michael and Daryl are class acts and I am fortunate to be associated with them.

They have recently joined in a partnership with Horizon Art, an exclusive custom frame shop located in the Arizona Design Center in Scottsdale, to supply high end fine art through their professional showroom.

If you are an individual with excellent taste and desire an original painting from Michael Clark in the Phoenix, Arizona area, please contact:

Costello-Childs Contemporary Fine Art, in downtown Phoenix, Arizona
costellochildsart.com
602.252.3610

or

Horizon Art
horizonart.com

2007-11-04T15:17:00.001-08:00

Due to much ridicule and banter, as well as embarrassment on my part, it is time to update.

Much has happened since the last posting. My work has changed quite a bit. I am quite happy with the changes and the direction of the work.

I was in conversation with a friend and colleague over another artists work. The comment was made something to the effect, "I like the work but is it realism or abstraction, it doesn't seem to know."

It took a day or two but I realized he was talking about me. Which put me to thinking.

For some time now I have not been able to let go of the realism aspect of my work. I finally just let go. I spent a month or so making works that were very experimental for me. Splattering paint, collage work, assemblage, and gestural and controlled abstract experiments. Mostly exercises, and challenges to keep me out of my comfort zone. And as with most challenges in life, after the pain and suffering, the lessons learned were well worth the pain.

The end result was that I discovered how much I love texture. The discovery of adding materials to the under painting to create different effects has been quite liberating and rewarding.

When I go to museums and galleries and see the original works, I love the added bonus of noticing the under drawing or layers of paint that reveal the working history and a glimpse of the thought process involved in the creation of the work. That bit of insight or discovery adds appreciation, enjoyment, and personal value to the viewing.

That bit of understanding of my viewing tastes, lead me to the use of texture and adding of materials to the base, or under painting process of the work.

The general composition of horizontal lines started out as simplified, abstracted versions of the landscape, with the patterns representing the flat signs and billboards that litter the landscape.

The color harmonies and how they work together, the texture and how it functions with the colors creates underlying composition. A bonus you get when noticing a small piece of color peeking out at you, or a texture that sparks your interest. These subtle things make you consider the history and process of the paintings creation. These are the driving force behind the work presently.

2007-03-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Painting ConderWhiteSpiral, 30" x 84", Oil on Board, 2007, is a commission piece for Mike and Carley Conder, of Tempe, Arizona. Mike is a local architect and Carley dances and heads the professional modern dance company, Conder Dance. They both have exceptional taste in art as well as the quality of their own craft.

With this particular piece we had the chance to work together and design the size and material of the painting to fit in a particular space of their collection. It was a pleasure to collaborate and work together on this piece with two such professionals.

2007-03-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

As of the holiday season 2006, I was convinced by my brother-in-laws that I would love mountain biking. I should take advantage of the trails that Arizona has to offer. With their help I purchased a bike and started riding. I will have to say that I am hooked. Still a rookie in my first season I get out and ride as much as my studio schedule will allow. This photo was taken on Gooseberry Trail in southern Utah. The trail was amazing. Scenic views that no picture, or painting could ever capture, topped with trails that were challenging and enjoyable. They look much better than they taste. I don’t want to get into that part.

2007-02-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

These are the latest images from January, 2007.

Michael Clark
RedSpiralBlueWire
Oil on Board
21" x 25.5" - 01.2007
Michael Clark
Curl&Pillar
Oil on Board
15" x 22.5" - 01.2007

2006-12-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

In the summer of 1993 I decided to finish my university studies. I was twenty six years old. I enrolled as a business major at the University of Utah with three years to finish my degree. I took one elective art class and that was it, I found where I belonged. I remember returning home from class one night and announcing that I was going to change my major and become an artist. Sometimes I still wonder what my wife was thinking when she said “um…..OK”?
I graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts in painting and drawing. During my studies I concentrated on the mechanics of realism. Creating the illusion of three dimensional space on a two dimensional surface. I studied under the instruction of David Dornan, Tony Smith, and Paul Davis. My main artistic interest and subject matter at that time were park structures. The colors, shape, and design of the structure was what attracted me in the first place, but it was the linear, man made industrial structure surrounded by nature that inspired me to begin painting them.

I entered the graduate painting program at Arizona State University in 1999. During the time between educational programs, I experimented with a variety of styles and techniques of painting. However in graduate school I started cropping the composition and forming a design quality to my park structure images. The addition of roller coaster subject matter allowed for a more dynamic visual composition to my paintings. Not long after I began using amusement park images, I had trouble finding accessible rollercoaster and amusement park structures close to home. To overcome this problem I built my own park structure/rollercoaster. My construction of a small papier mache industrial design shaped still life (24”x24”x24”), provided an abundance of subject matter. It was this body of work that made up my MFA thesis and several shows beyond.

Upon graduating I found myself wondering if the work was truly mine or a collaborative work guided by the voices of instructors and colleagues. I spent time soul searching and experimenting with other ways of painting. I love painting and drawing the figure. During this time in my career, I worked with some figurative narration that had mild political and fairytale undertones. I am very proud of these figurative works. However in the early spring of 2006, during a slide lecture presenting my work, I noticed an evolution in my abstract work that confirmed to me that those paintings were indeed my work, and my voice. Realizing this evolution inspired me to resume painting abstract works with a renewed confidence.
I have heard it said that life is a journey and not a destination. And so it is with my work. One step and then another and then another. With my figure work I began with an idea and then produced the painting. With my abstract paintings I make the work inspired by visual decisions and as time passes the work slowly reveals its deeper meaning.

The progression of a painter has been explained to me like this, “As painters we work on paintings and then we make jumps or breakthroughs in our work. We work some more and achieve more jumps and accomplish more breakthroughs.”
The further my career progresses, the more I discover the truth of this. Life truly is a journey that we travel and not a destination we should rush to.