Three Recent Still Lifes

Spring's First Array
Oil on linen • 12" x 9" • Available
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

Today, I added three recent still lifes to my website. I just finished "Spring's First Array" (left) this morning. The flowers are from a bouquet I gave my wife for Valentine's Day. They were so beautiful, I just had to paint them!

Blues and Yellows
Oil on linen • 7" x 5" • Available
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

Longing For Beauty
Oil on linen • 11" x 16" • Available
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

I am in awe of God's Creation, and never cease to be inspired by its beauty! Recently, I had the privilege of writing an article on beauty for the Winter '13 issue of Artists On Art Magazine. If you don't already have a subscription to this incredible digital magazine, I highly recommend signing up! Below is an excerpt from the article that describes the painting to the left:

"This fall, my wife and I stopped at a convenience store that had a large basket full of unusual gourds. Initially, we laughed at how delightfully ugly the gourds were. But eventually, we also marveled that each was unique, fascinating, and even beautiful in its own way. My wife surprised me by buying several for me to use as still life items. To me, one of the gourds (pictured in the upper left) resembled a freakish creature with a swan’s head and spider-like legs gripping a yellow-and-green beach ball. Try as I might, I could not abandon this characterization of the gourd. As a result, this painting is somewhat allegorical. The gourd peeks from behind a leaf to hide its supposed ugliness as it gazes upon the lily and longs to have its beauty. But unlike the ugly duckling, which eventually becomes a beautiful swan, the gourd will never become a flower. But it does not matter, because all Creation, from the majestic sunrise to the humble gourd, is already beautiful. We just have to teach our eyes to recognize it."

More Art Humor

Here's a new comic I made. Click it to enlarge :)

Click image to enlarge

Because we all need to laugh...

I've just created a new page on this blog called "Art Humor" (see the tab above)!

Tinker Bell and TobyMac

More Whipped Cream
Oil on linen • 24" x 14" • Sold
Portrait Award of Excellence,
2013 OPA National

I never thought I'd mention Tinker Bell and TobyMac in the same post! Here goes...

The painting to the left is a recent one of my 5-year-old cousin. Her family was in town visiting, and I decided to take the opportunity to paint her. She was a terrific little model, especially when entertained with her favorite Tinker Bell movie and supplied with plenty of ice cream and repeated servings of whipped cream (hence the title)! Of course, even the best-behaved 5-year-olds can't sit still forever. When the whipped cream ran out, she found it much more interesting to hop off the couch and "help" Andrea and me with our paintings. She had a lot of fun putting strokes on our paintings as we directed. Maybe she is an artist in the making!

I did this simple sketch of my cousin from life. Although the sketch is very basic, it helped me keep my colors more life-like while working from photographs for the larger painting.

Study for "More
Whipped Cream"
Oil in linen • 5.5" x 4.5"

I don't know about you, but the music I listen to while I paint has a great impact on my work. One song in particular, "Steal My Show" by TobyMac, has had a big influence on me lately (listen below). The songwriter asks God to steal his show, recognizing that his own performance is of much less importance than the work God can do through him. That kind of humility is inspiring. Naturally, every artist wants people to enjoy his work. But when I seek man's recognition instead of God's, I set myself up for disaster. When people praise my work, it's easy to let it go to my head and forget that it's God that gave me my talents. This song reminds me to ask the Lord to "steal my show" and do more with my life than I ever could on my own.