Ellie Clemens fine artist

landscape abstract plein air watercolor  contact    about
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Artist's Statement
       

I believe landscape painting is inherently optimistic. In order to paint the landscape you have to be able to see the physical world as a beautiful place, a richly satisfying place, a place worth continued investigation. Painting on site in the outside world, or 'en plein air' is immensely rewarding, lets me see the world anew each time.

As well as plein air painting, simplified, abstracted landscape painting is a fascination for me. I love playing on that edge between the known and the unknown, the real and the imaginary:  a seascape simplified to stripes of color, and still recognizable to the viewer. This recognizability, this iconic relationship of shape to shape allows me to experiment with the elements that make up this image – make the horizon flat, make it hilled, make it slanted, make it almost disappear - make the sky pink or green or brown or even black. Make the land or the sea a heavy weight at the base of the picture plane, the sky floating colors. The viewer is always reassured that they are looking at something real, while I try toi delight their eyes and mind, show them large blocks of color that can be close to what they represent or very far away indeed.


Awards
  • "Distinguished Artist" status - Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, USA
  • First Prize, Professional, Acrylics - Chelmsford Art Association, MA, USA
  • Second Prize, Watercolor, Chelmsford Art Association, Chelmsford, MA, USA
  • Honorable Mention, Westford Regional Art Show, Westford, MA, USA
  • Honorable Mention, Acrylics - Concord Art Association Member's Juried Show, Concord, MA, USA
  • Honorable Mention, Concord Art Association, Concord, MA, USA
Publications
  • Catalogue Cover and posters for Chemin des Artistes, 2006
  • Commemorative Envelopes, La Poste, France 2006
  • Poster, Theater Arts of Provence, 2006
  • Watercolor Magazine, 2003
Selected Shows
  • “Dix Artistes d’Espéraza”,Galérie Espace d’Art, Rennes les Bains, France, June 2008
  • “Dix Artistes d’Espéraza”, Atelier-Crêperie, Espéraza, France, June – August 2008
  • “Le Bleu”, Galérie Espace d’Art, Rennes les Bains, France, June 2007
  • Solo show, Galérie Espace d’Art, Rennes les Bains, France, August 2005
  • “Les Arbres”, Art Du Quai gallery, Espéraza, France, August 2004
  • “Recent Work”, solo show at Concord Art Center, Concord, Mass, USA,  March 2003
  • "Images from the South of France", Parish Center for the Arts, Westford, Massachusetts, USA, 2001
Invitational Shows
  • "Departures" – Puiatti Gallery, New York, 2006
  • Chemin des Artistes – Haute Vallée de l’Aude,  France, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
  • Regards Multiples, Espace Gibert Center for the Contemporary Arts, Lezignan-Corbières, France, 2005
  • Invited to “Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea", Florence, Italy 2005 (chose not to participate)
  • 7e Salon International d'Arts, Centre Européen pour la Promotion des Arts et des Lettres, Thionville, France, 2002
  • Members' Juried Show, Concord Art Association, Concord, Massachusetts, USA.  1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
  • Distinguished Artists Show, Concord Art Association, Concord, Massachusetts, USA. 2001
  • "Met on the Internet", Clinical Center Galleries at the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 1998
Galleries
  • Gallery at 6, Carcassonne
  • Arts et Cadres, Campagne sur Aude, France
  • Puiatti Gallery, New York, USA
  • NOA Gallery, Groton, Massachusetts, USA
  • Bilancia Gallery and Framing, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA
  • Art in the Heart of Maynard, Maynard, Massachusetts, USA
  • Fortune’s Rocks Fine Art , Guntersville, Alabama, USA