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Friday, February 05, 2010

Special People

Living as a single woman since 1984 and struggling to support myself as an artist, I have had more than my share of personal crisis. Several years ago when I was going through yet another crisis, a soft-spoken artist (angel), Clara Dodd Blalock, appeared. She offered me a show at her church, the Church of the Atonement in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Being out of the show circuit for a while, my mailing list was completely out of date. I was such an emotional mess that fortunately Clara and her church cultural team took care of all the details. It was a lovely reception, but few of my former clients showed up and I managed to sell only one piece. I still feel guilty, but grateful, about all the hard work that they did for me. Clara has continued to be kind and supportive. She is truly one of the special people in this world.
Clara is also a fantastic artist. Her awards and accomplishments are numerous. I particularly love her abstract paintings. (You can see more of them on her website)I share Clara’s love of drawing and line. Clara’s calligraphic brushwork reflects this. It is fresh and exciting. Her subdued color palette contrasts with the energy of her marks, the epitome of "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." Clara is an accomplished contemporary landscape painter as well. The TV shows, “Trading Places” and "Extreme Home Makeover," featured her work and she is represented in several galleries across the United States. You can view some of her landscape paintings online at the Tucker Gallery located in Evanston, Illinois. I hope you visit the sites and enjoy more of her work.

19 comments:

  1. i know very well your feelings .

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  2. Hi Caio, Do you mean my feelings of guilty, but grateful? Yes, I live with a lot of them.
    Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. We all need special people in our lives. Nice you to meet yours. I like her paintings especially her landscapes at the Tucker Gallery.

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  4. Hi Eva, What a lovely, special tribute!

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  5. Thank you Peggy. Clara is special!

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  6. Oh Eva, I so appreciate your kind words. I see you can relate to my situation. Congratulations on the solo show! That and the sale of a painting from the show are my goals yet to be fulfilled. You are blessed to have an angel like Clara in your life, but remember, she would not be inclined to do this for you unless she saw something special in you! (hugs)

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  7. Sheila, thank you for your kind words.I have no doubt that you will have several wonderful solo shows and sell lots of your painting in your new free life!
    Cheers

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  8. I so enjoyed taking a virtual tour of Clara's sumptuous oils. And your lovely words were the perfect introduction...you are both fortunate to share a mutually supportive friendship focused on the arts. true wealth!

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  9. I am so pleased you visited Clara's sites and were able to see more of her paintings. Yes, I agree artist friends are a rich blessing.
    Thank you for commenting

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  10. Hi Eva, enjoyed reading your blog and visting Clara's website!
    Thanks for the kind words about my daughter's performance painting and following my blog.
    Michelle

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  11. Hi Michelle, Thank you for stopping by and commenting. You have a very talented daughter. I really enjoyed her painting video on your blog.

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  12. Thanks for this wonderful introduction! There are amazing supportive people we meet in our lives, nice to meet Clara and her work.

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  13. I'm happy you were pleased Blue Sky Dreaming. Thanks for commenting.

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  14. one never knows when a friend, mentor, fellow artist comes along and helps us along our journey-- love her paintings and can see that she helped you when you needed the support.

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  15. Thanks for your comments Donna. I glad you made it home safely from your trip. With all the awful weather going on across the country, it is a concern.

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  16. Hi Eva...Great post, thanks for sharing. Yes, making a living through art is not easy, but I can not, not create. It's like asking us to stop breathing.

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  17. Thanks for your comments Cory. You are so right. Depending solely on your art is really difficult when you are an abstract artist and not teaching to supplement it.The huge commissions kept me going.

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