A Blessed Thanksgiving

"As We All Clasp Hands"
36x36 in.
Oil on Canvas
$550

I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as I did. I have always loved Thanksgiving, because it is all about family (and eating). Not to mention that we always celebrate my birthday afterwords! In honor of the holiday, I have decided to re-post one of my favorite paintings from my "Where I Came From" series. The little boy on the left side of the painting is my dad. This and many other paintings are on display and for sale in the studio. And, in honor of my 30th birthday, all original oil paintings are 30% off during this weekend's Winter Art Market at Art Crossing. Visit the WAM blog for more details!

Riverplace Fountains at Night

Hello friends! Sorry for my sudden absence all last week. It was a week where inspiration and motivation were in short supply. I did manage to get this piece finished, however. Some of you may remember a while back I did a commission of these steps and fountains. Well, I decided to revisit the subject for an upcoming show called Greenville Scene, being put on by MAC and the Greenville Museum of Art. I under painted the whole piece in blue, which I think made the lights and water of the fountains really pop out.

Vintage Squared

All the 12"x 12" pieces from Oil and Rouge are now posted on my website. But here is a look at all of them in one place! Happy Friday everyone!

In Celebration

If you have been in the studio at all the last few months, you have seen this piece in progress. I waited to post it now so that I wouldn't ruin the surprise. The husband commissioned this piece for his wife for their one year anniversary. It pictures places they have been and things that are important to them. If you would like to commission a painting for your loved ones, just email me the photo(s) you are considering and we will discuss size and pricing options.

Progress Made

If you came in to Open Studios this weekend (many thanks to you), you saw the bit of progress I made on my green piece. Here is another glimpse of the progress I have made so far. I love that through the additional layers of color you can still see hints of the green underneath. Still a bit of work to do, but I like the way it is headed!

The Same, but Different

11"x 14"
Oil on Masonite
$245

To purchase, email me with the title in the subject line.

Some of you may recognize the subject matter of this piece. I used the same photo of my grandmother and her sister for a painting a little over a year ago. That piece is currently at The Little Art Gallery in Raleigh, NC. I came across the photo again yesterday and wanted to revisit it. In many ways, I like this version better than the original. I also just love the subject matter. I want to know where they were going in their beautiful contrasting coats, and my grandmother in her quirky, fabulous hat. The photo looks like a beautiful, sunny day up in the mountains, and I imagine it is a little cold. My grandmother looks like she was saying something as the shutter was clicked, and I love the way my great aunt has her head tilted towards her sister as she squints in the bright sunlight. I have to say this is one of my favorite photos, as well as one of my favorite paintings!

Starting with green

This piece is very much in progress, but I thought I would post the first step so that you can see how much it changes. I have mentioned over on my vintage blog that for some reason, I love laundromats. So, for some of my newest paintings, I am combining some of my vintage ladies with laundromat scenes. This piece is not going to stay all green like this. I typically paint a solid layer of color on the canvas before I start so that I do not have to deal with a totally white canvas. This time, though, I decided to under paint the entire scene in various shades of green. Some of the green will remain, but in most areas it will just peek through, creating (I hope) a very cool layered feel. Want to see it in person and to check out the progress I have made? Stop by Open Studios this weekend and I will have it on the easel!

A Day Out

16"x 16"
Oil and Paper on Canvas
$250

To purchase, email me with the title in the subject line.

I've been busy getting ready for Open Studios, but still finding time to paint. This piece is from a photo of my Grandmother, my dad, and my aunt. My favorite part is that he was flapping his arms in the picture, so his right hand is just a blur. I tried to capture that in this piece!

Open Studios 2009 at Emily Clarke Studio!

For more information about Open Studios, and to see a list of other participating artists and their locations, please visit http://www.greenvillearts.com.

A free, family fun alternative to Halloween

Starry Night on the Reedy

Music from Paris
Food from Giverny
Children’s Attractions
and
Art from Vincent and
the artists of Art Crossing

Saturday - 10/31/09 - 7 to 10 pm
RiverPlace in The West End
Greenville, SC
864.650.6041

Re-arrange

Hello friends! If you haven't been over to my vintage blog to see photos from Oil and Rouge, click over there now to see all the amazing fun we had!

So, after a brief rest over the weekend, it was back to work this week. I spent much of Monday and Tuesday rearranging the studio, making room for some of the Oil and Rouge pieces on the big wall of art. Plus, I am in the process of redoing my website. Be on the lookout for the launch of the new EmilyClarkeStudio.com in the coming week!

Plus, this Saturday the artists of Art Crossing are hosing Starry Night, a family friendly alternative to Halloween, featuring art, music, food and drinks. Check out our Facebook page for more details. And, to top it all off, next weekend is the anual Open Studios!

But, I have managed to get a little painting in among all this work. This piece is from a great photograph of my grandparents and my mom standing by their front porch. I hope to do many more of these little paintings, all framed in various old frames, to create a huge wall of old family photos.

8"x 10"
Oil on Matboard

Oil and Rouge: A Vintage Affair Tonight!

Emily Clarke Studio and Shantel Lowe the Make Up Artist invite you to a night of vintage fun! Don your zoot suit and wiggle skirts, break out your wingtip shoes and red lipstick and join us cats for a fun filled evening from days gone by!

Original oil paintings by Emily Clarke
Hair and Make up by Shantel Lowe
Photography by Keith J. Carson
Clothes by Threads in Time Vintage Clothing
Jewelry by Blue Moss
Music by Upstate Swing Dance
Food by Brick Street Cafe
Raffles for great prizes and more!

Oil and Rouge: A Vintage Affair
Friday, October 23, 2009
6-9pm
Art & Light Gallery
1211 Pendleton St.
Greenville, SC 29611

Want more information or need some vintage inspiration, check out the Oil and Rouge blog, http://oilandrouge.wordpress.com, or become our fan on Facebook.

Want a sneak peek?

Want a sneak peek of tomorrow's vintage affair? Click over to my vintage blog, oilandrouge.wordpress.com, and check out the photos!

Classical

I haven't painted a nude in a number of years, but a patron recently requested one, so I returned to the subject. I have been experimenting with underpainting, and I love the way the orange of the background plays off of the skin tones, and peeks through the areas of white. Overall, I think it is a very successful painting!

Wispering Love

12"x 12"
Oil on Canvas
SOLD

I know it looks like it, but this is not a piece for Friday's Oil and Rouge show. Instead, it is for the Open Studios show at the Metropolitan Arts Council. All the artists involved in Open Studios on November 7 & 8 contribute a 12"x 12" piece to be displayed at MAC. It is a great way to check out all 124 Open Studios artists in one location.

Apologies!

Hello friends! Sorry about the complete lack of posts recently! I spent the past week in Texas visiting my baby sister, and all the rest of my time has been split between commissions and preparations for next week's Oil and Rouge show. But, I have lots of exciting things in the works that I can't wait to share. Thanks for sticking around!

Trillium Fair

Thanks to everyone who came out this weekend! Plus, it didn't rain!

Malie and Macie

This is a commission I did recently for a friend of my sister. It is of her two daughters, and I heard that she really loved it. I think it turned out so cute!

Vintage complete

I posted a photo of these pieces in progress a couple of weeks ago. Here is the set completed. I love the pieces individually, but as a collection I love them even more! To see these pieces in person (and buy one for yourself!) don't miss my vintage show on October 23.

To the Art Cave

Hello friends! As promised, here are a couple of picks from this past weekend's West Greenville Arts Festival. The first one is my tent setup, which by the end of the weekend became known as the Art Cave. This was also the only brief period of time when you could see blue sky and it wasn't raining.



Sadly, most of the weekend looked more like this:


For those of you who wimped out and didn't brave the storms, no worries! I will be participating in the Trillium Arts Fair in Travelers Rest on October 3, plus a bunch of other events between now and Christmas that I will tell you about later. Stay tuned!

Lady in Red

Hello friends! Thanks to all who braved the rain to come out to the West Greenville Arts Festival this weekend. I will post a few photos of the fun, but rain soaked affair as soon as I find where I stashed my camera. In the meantime, here are a couple more pieces for the upcoming Oil and Rouge Show. I am almost done with the art, and I have almost exactly a month until showtime! Plus, a couple of other events happening before that show. It's going to be a busy holiday season!

I'm to tired to think up a title or anything to say, but I love this one...

Multitude of Mugs!

I did quite a lot of painting today, but the thing I was most excited about was the arrival of my mugs from my CafePress shop! I ordered them to display at the West Greenville Art Festival this coming weekend, and I just love them! If you want to own one of these mugs with images from my Modern Conveniences series, just visit my CafePress shop, or stop by my tent this weekend.


And, here they are on the beautiful mug tree my dad made for me!

West Greenville Arts Festival this weekend!

I hope you will come out this weekend to the first ever West Greenville Arts Festival, hosted by Upstate Visual Arts in partnership with the Pendleton Street Arts District. I will be among the over 75 artists working in a variety of two- and three-dimensional media.

The event, devoted to the visual arts, will be the first of its kind in the historic, newly renovated Pendleton Street Arts District. The street festival will not only feature booth artists, food vendors, live music, and children’s activities, but will also encourage interaction with the existing galleries and businesses located in West Greenville through a walking tour of the area.

The event runs Saturday, September 19th from 10am until 7pm, and Sunday, September 20th from 11am until 5pm. Come check it out!

Noises Off! at Greenville Little Theater

Hey friends! Opening tonight at the Greenville Little Theater is Noises Off, hailed as one of the funniest plays ever written! And while you are there, check out my Modern Conveniences series of paintings on display in the lobby. The play runs through September 27, so be sure to check it out!

Sweet Nothings

12"x 12"
Oil on masonite

Admiration

12"x 12"
Oil on masonite

I wasn't sure how this piece would look, with the close-up and no features. But, once I finished, I really love it! I especially like the ruffle on the edge of the dress, and the beautiful necklace by Blue Moss!

Oil and Rouge in G Magazine!

OK, if you read my other blog (or you are my friend on Facebook or Twitter) you have already seen this, but I am so excited that I feel the need to post it everywhere! I was really excited to see the new issue of G Magazine come out last week with the ad for Oil and Rouge: A Vintage Affair! G Magazine has graciously agreed to be a sponsor for the show, and printed a beautiful, eye catching ad. The final details are starting to fall in to place, and I am super excited about the show! Mark your calendars for October 23, and be sure to be there!

A lot of vintage!

I have shared a few of these smaller pieces I am working on for my vintage show, but today I laid them all out to get an overall impression of the work so far, and I am absolutely in love with them! I am obviously not finished, but I think they already have a pretty big impact as a group. For the show, I am planning on arranging them in a grid similar to this. Hope you like them as much as I do!