C.A.V.A. MEMBERS EXHIBITION AT BRIDGEPORT ART CENTER SEPT. 15 - OCT. 29, 2023

 FONDAMENTA DEL VETRAI, 38 x 30 inch oil and pencil on paper painting by George C. Clark  Available

This painting of houses on a canal in Murano, near Venice, will be in the Chicago Association of Visual Artists Members Exhibition at Bridgeport Art Center, 1200 West 35th Street in Chicago, in the 3rd floor gallery. There will be an Opening Reception on Friday,  Sept. 15 from 6 to 10pm, and another reception on Friday, Oct. 20 from 7 to 10pm.  Gallery hours are Mon.-Sat. 8am to 6pm and Sun. 8am to noon. The show will be open daily through Oct. 28, 2023.

SAN MOISE, VENICE

San Moise, Venice, 29 x 23 oil on paper painting by George C. Clark    SOLD

I had to cross this bridge and walk through the little campo in front of the Church of San Moise to get to San Marco from the hotel I was staying at in Venice.

GRAND CANAL, VENICE

Grand Canal from Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, 12 x 9 inch watercolor by George C. Clark   AVAILABLE

I painted this little watercolor sitting on the steps of the great church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice.  The water taxi was actually tied up at the fondimenta in front of me, but I decided to portray it in motion.  Then, just as the painting was about finished, some churchmen came from behind me, got in the boat, and it took off.

AN IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGH

Ca daMula, Murano, 23 x 29 inch oil on paper painting by George C. Clark    SOLD

I had tried painting landscapes from other people's photographs with unsatisfactory results, but I was happy with the paintings I did on-site.  After a while I learned that if I went somewhere and looked at a subject with artist's eyes, deciding where I would paint from, what format of paper or canvas I would use, what elements I would include or not include in my composition, I could then walk around the site and take a series of photographs that would enable me to paint pretty much the same painting in my studio that I would have done on-site, but without having to worry about the wind knocking my easel over.  Ca daMula, Murano was researched in Italy but painted in my Chicago studio with the same high energy and spontaneity I would have brought to a work done on location with the pressure of having to paint fast before the light or weather might change.  Learning to do this was a big breakthrough for me, and it freed me to work in a much more portable medium on the road.