Clarissa Horton Stone Mt. Arts Incubator CBS Atlanta News Interview

This experience of being on the news is one that I never though would come so soon while I am young. I was pretty nervous, but honored to be on. I had a wonderful opportunity to speak about my art and my first studio.

www.clarissahorton.com

Clarissa Horton CBS Atlanta News Interview

This was my first experience with being on the news. I was totally not expecting this to happen to me on that day. Everything happens for a reason, and I was at the right place at the right time. This is why it is important to always keep a few things of makeup in your purse ladies! LOL!

www.clarissahorton.com

Exhibition "Unveiling Secrets" Opening Reception

Unveiling Secrets, March 29 - April 30, 2010


My Daddy helping me install. :0)

These pictures are from the opening reception of my BFA Thesis show at Pratt Institute. This experience had me on an emotional high for over a week. The greatest part about having a show is having my family and friends see all of my hard work; my parents were definitely proud. It's fun to see those who have journeyed with me through out this series come and see the results. I definitely got to see my own work differently hung together on a clean white wall, in a large gallery with open space. As an artist who is used to working in a small studio, it was wonderfully overwhelming to me to see my work on together on the wall. Not only was I able to see my work differently, but I was able read my work differently.

Someone at the opening asked me, which piece is my favorite, and my answer to them was, I don't have one. Each painting reflects a certain part of my journey that is apart of me. Each painting is a memory of a true experience or desire. The funnest part about the exhibition was being able to interact with my viewers and question their thoughts about my work.

If I could do one thing differently at the opening, it would be to take more pictures, lol, but here you go. ENJOY!

**Click on image to enlarge


(left to right) My Mother, Me, and my Cousin Alexis






My roommates and I



Painter Jordan Cooper and Me


My painting teacher, Peggy Cyphers, and I are examining my latest painting Secret Garden



(from left to right) Painter Anthony Morton, Peggy Cyphers, and Me

www.clarissahorton.com

Thesis Exhibition: "Unveiling Secrets", Installation

Unveiling Secrets, March 29 - April 3, 2010

This thesis exhibition experience was an amazing one. I learned so much about my self as an artist, and psychologically on the issue of love. How I feel about love really spoke to me from seeing my paintings all hung together in the gallery. Seeing my big paintings, Secret Garden and Caught, in the gallery amazed me on how much life large paintings can bring to a series, and can affect the gallery in a beautiful way. I got a lot of great responses from my peers, teachers, and guest about the series. Three things that they all love is how I use color, the imagery I express in each painting, and the energy that I bring with each brush stroke.

Another thing others admire is my fearlessness to be transparent and expose my inner self for the world to see. This can be a very vulnerable place for many, but for me it gives me the strength to share my feelings with absolute power and control. Their inspiration from observing my work has inspired me as an artist. I have been debating as to whether or not to do more paintings for this series. I will because a few of my trusted peers and teachers say that I should push these ideas further, and I agree.

***Click on picture for a zoomed in image***






Secret Garden, Oil on Canvas, 2010
Pratt Student, Friend, Model James Ward beside painting


Current late painting of series



Please be Delicate, Oil on Canvas, 2010





Caught, Oil on Canvas, 2010




Senior Fine Arts painting professor Greg Drasler sharing his positive thoughts with me about his perspective on the series and my growth.




www.clarissahorton.com

"The Metamorphis"

Caught
Oil on Canvas, 2010, 66 x 50in
(Zoomed in Image)

This is a zoomed in photo of this painting. This painting is 66 x 50inches. This is the largest canvas that I've stretched, and painted in years. I had another title other than Caught for this painting, which helped to inspired my story, but changed it because I desire to leave the title a little vague.

I prefer to leave room for the viewer to have their own interpretations of my work, rather than me completely forcing my emotional experience on them; I want them to have their own experience with each piece.

This large painting has brought the best out of me intellectually, and aesthetically. Its largeness of size forced me to consider every area of the canvas in greater detail. I was able to push my narrative more than I have before in my previous work. I not only had to consider the figure, but the atmosphere around the figure in intensely because there is more open space within the picture.

A large canvas gives me more room to play with my subjects body language to help tell the story. My brush work and paint application is the first painting in the series, "Unveiling Secrets", to consist of a lot of translucent color and lose energetic brush work. In Caught, I brought painting back to my paintings.


Unveiling Secrets
East Hall Gallery, 2nd Floor
Opening Reception, March 29, 2010 6-9PM
March 29 through April 2

Regular gallery hours Tues-Fri, 10AM-5PM

Pratt Institute
200 Willoughby Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205