Giving Life to the Community
Artists
Claire McQueeney:
California native Claire McQueeney studied in Boston, San Francisco and New York, and spent 10 years living Aspen, Colorado, where she observed the spectacular changes of nature. The energy and color she absorbed during that time are integral to her signature free-motion monotypes, for which she is best known in the art world today.
Unlike an etching or lithography, where an artist produces an edition of many prints from the same image, a monotype is a one-of-a-kind work. First, the painting is executed on a smooth surface; then a sheet of damp French printmaking paper is placed on top of the image, and it is run through the press. In this way, the entire painting is transferred from the surface to the paper, and the single, unique monotype print is created.
"I love the direct and spontaneous way of working," McQueeney says. "It appeals to me completely. I mix a palette of colors that relates to the way I am feeling that day, or which represent the feeling I want to capture in my print. Most often I am thinking of a memory of something I really like. The life around the seashore, harbors, beaches, horse racing and summertime all capture the elements I love: color, motion, excitement, energy, and hopefully, the sunlight that accentuates all those things. I have always loved just observing this world and later trying to 'remember' it visually in a monotype."
Claire McQueeny's work has been exhibited in galleries in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Aspen, Washington, D.C., Sun Valley, Del Mar, New York City, Martha's Vineyard, Cincinnati and Louisville.
