Sue Clancy's Blog, page 49

more cups collected

Here are a few more coffee (and tea) cups collected in my sketchbook. Will use this page as reference for future fine art pieces aka dog portraits.

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collecting coffee cups and recipes

Spent a self indulgent morning drinking Irish coffee and reading newspapers, magazines and books – and discussing what I read with my sweetie. Life doesn’t get better that that! I also collected the dishes. Meaning that I went through my various sketchbooks and collected drawings I’d done of coffee cups. Drawings I’d done when we went to various coffee shops or happy hours and had coffee drinks. In my fine artwork I often depict my dogs or cats drinking coffee or tea – so I thought it’d be good to have a collection of “dishes” all in one place to pull from when it’s time to make fine art.

Here’s one page of my coffee cup collection. There are many more pages filled with cups … but one page will give you the idea.

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page from Sue Clancy’s sketchbook

Here below is a “raw” sketchbook page from which I collected one of the coffee cup shapes that was  collected into one of my other “all cups together” sketchbook pages – but the above cups came from “raw” sketchbook pages too.  I say “raw” pages because these small sketchbooks fit in my pocket and are drawn on the fly as life happens. I’ll refine them or re-draw them later.

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page from Sue Clancy’s “raw” pocket sketchbook

Living here in the Pacific Northwest I’ve been fascinated with the variety of coffee drinks available as well as the kinds of cups the drinks are served in. Did you know that there are some 44 different coffee drink types? I didn’t until I started noticing. I’ve not tried them all yet but I have learned to ask my barista questions. Learned a lot that way! And of course while I’m drawing in my sketchbook I write down the recipes as told to me – and then, if I try to make it at home I’ll note in my sketchbook my favorite mix. I think of it as part of my on-going “know thyself” self-education program. The recipes make their way into my fine art too – just less obviously. Here’s my favorite recipe for Irish Coffee.

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recipe for Irish Coffee made as Sue Clancy likes it

of dogs, tequila and recipes

If you have ever enjoyed a margarita – or as I’ve recently discovered – a Mexican coffee remember to thank a bat. The lesser long nosed bat, yes the night flying critter, is very important to the pollination of plants that produce tequila. This bat’s health affects human culture and humans affect the bat. Fortunately the lesser long nosed bat has been removed from the endangered species list recently because lots of humans returned the bat’s favors and helped the bat’s habitat etc.

All of this goes to my on-going thesis that we humans are interconnected with the world. It only seems like human culture is separate from the natural world. Just like sometimes it feels like we are alone as individuals. But the way I figure it even when I’m physically alone in a room there are thousands of humans with me; several people made my furniture, some made my window blinds, others make the inks, brushes and all the art supplies I use. The books that fill my studio and home were written, edited, published and distributed by lots of humans. And I’m grateful to them.

Then I back up a notch and there are mammals, insects, plants as well as water, air and sunlight that also contributed to the materials all the humans used to make everything in my life. And I’m even more grateful.

Which brings me to the dogs. For me dogs represent a “joy at being alive” and dogs are very much a part of our human world. For me they are a direct link to the natural world – they are our “interpreters”, our therapy guide dogs, that help us remember our humanity. You know, enjoy your food, sleep well, be sociable, be kind, go for walks and play like you mean it.

I also enjoy the diversity of the dog-world. The smallest dog and the biggest dog, the hairy dog and the smooth-coated dog are all able to co-exist peaceably (most of the time) in the same dog park. Good examples for the humans I think.

It takes all of us – every being – to create our world. Sort of like a drink recipe, leave out one item and you don’t have the same drink. As Dr. Bob Hoke often quoted “We bring forth the world together”

So for many of the above reasons I depict dogs doing human culture-like things such as having a Mexican coffee.

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Walter by Clancy – ink on handmade paper

And here is one of the best Mexican coffee recipe’s I’ve found so far.

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I never knew there were so many coffee-drinks until I moved to the Pacific Northwest. Lately I’ve been “collecting” such drinks in my sketchbook (like the above recipe) as well as many different shapes of mugs and cups. All of this research is ending up in my fine artwork… I’ll share more about this in another post.

Do you have a favorite dog? Or favorite coffee drink?

In the meantime you can see more of my dog portrait artwork in my new book “Dogs by Sue Clancy” https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Dogs-By-Sue-Clancy or at one of my art galleries: Caplan Art Designs http://www.caplanartdesigns.com  For more of the “Dr. Bob Hoke” I spoke of earlier see also my artist book Dr. Bob’s Emotional Repair Program First Aid Kit https://store.bookbaby.com/book/dr-bobs-emotional-repair-program-first-aid-kit

 

Sue Clancy :: The Rabbit

Delighted that my artist book “The Rabbit” has been published in its entirety in Issue 7 of Small Po[r]tions journal!  You can see it directly here: https://smallportionsjournal.com/2017/02/10/sue-clancy-the-rabbit/

Small Po[r]tions

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Clancy draws a dog

Here is a video of me drawing a dog using the same art techniques (dip pen, brush and sumi ink) that I used to create all of the artwork in my new book “Dogs by Sue Clancy” as well as the original artwork currently exhibited at Caplan Art Designs. http://www.caplanartdesigns.com

art book pet peeves

I love books about art including books about individual artists. But I wonder why they’re often the size of a coffee table and weigh as much as a Rottweiler. Why such dense prose in tiny fonts?  So when making my own art books I go for a light-weight book design and few words.

Take my recent book “Dogs by Sue Clancy” for example. It’s 8.5 x 11 inches when closed. And it weighs about 5 ounces. There are 245 words total. And that includes the ISBN info.

You can read my book while holding it in the air above the dog (or cat) currently sleeping on your lap.

Here’s a link with more info about the book: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Dogs-By-Sue-Clancy

Here are some pictures of “Dogs by Sue Clancy”.

And I’m  sure my long time fans will also recognize that in my art book titled “Coffee Table Book” that I played with my whole heavy-coffee-table-size book peeve by deliberately making an art book for smart-phones. More about that here: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/coffee-table-book

Yours in being able to read a book about art without needing a hoist or crane.

musical dog art

Getting a few questions about my new artist book “Dogs by Sue Clancy” – https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Dogs-By-Sue-Clancy – one of the questions: “Where do you get your ideas, that ‘something pleasant’ you speak of?”

While I’m living my ordinary life I make notes and drawings in my sketchbook of everything pleasant that I experience.  Then when I’m starting a fine art piece, as I said on the book jacket, I “think of something pleasant”.  What I didn’t spell out in my book “Dogs…” is that I sometimes flip thru my sketchbooks as a creative prompt for that something pleasant.

For example just prior to making this piece pictured below I’d flipped through my sketchbook and come across a sketchbook page which sparked the pleasant memories of a house concert I’d gone to and made sketches during…

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Fuzzy by Clancy (ink on handmade paper) – and yes, this dog is in the book “Dogs by Sue Clancy”

 

Here’s the sketchbook page I did at the concert. See Coty Hogue’s website www.cotyhogue.com for some samples of the music that inspired me…

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I’ve been learning that I enjoy and am inspired by the small intimate concerts that I’m lucky enough to attend here in the PNW.  A small venue makes hearing the performance much better for me and, since I’m having a good time, I do a lot of “music” drawings while at a performance.  Several of the art pieces in my new book are music inspired. Heck, much of my fine art is musically oriented…

Anyway, I’m hoping that when people look at “Dogs by Sue Clancy” that they’ll have a pleasant feeling even if they don’t know the specific details, like I’ve just shared with you, about my thoughts behind each piece.

As alluded in my post titled “Just Looking and artist details”  https://sueclancy.com/2017/01/30/just-looking-and-artist-details – In everything I do I try to give enough information without being “too much”.  It’s a challenge. Which is why I like questions from people about my artwork. It gives me a clue what you’d like to know more about.  Keep the questions coming! And thanks for them!

BTW – my book is now rolling out now on Amazon.com and becoming available via most bookstores. How fun is that?!

new Clancy pattern designs

Here are images of my newly finished scarf and bag designs intended for the amusement of teachers (and students and people who enjoy language and numbers) – and both designs were inspired by teachers.  My most recent blog post on my website tells “how and why I made this” details.  https://sueclancy.com/2017/02/06/art-messes-math-mistakes-and-teachers/ 

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scarf design by Clancy – the original pattern is created by hand-drawing letters in ink. That pattern is custom printed on modal fabric https://www.shopvida.com/collections/sue-clancy

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bag design by Clancy – the original pattern is created by hand-drawing numbers in ink. That pattern is custom printed https://www.shopvida.com/collections/sue-clancy

You can see my full pattern design collection here: https://www.shopvida.com/collections/sue-clancy

art messes math mistakes and teachers

I’ve had the cold/flu/crud for the last week. I’m feeling better now and wanted to “do something creative”. Trouble is I still suddenly sneeze and cough so using sharp xacto knives, loaded ink brushes and glue laden papers is more hazardous and messy than usual. What to do?

Then I thought – I know several teachers who have this cold/flu/crud too. What could I make that might amuse teachers? Perhaps make them feel a wee bit better? After some further thought I grabbed my felt-tip pens and have been creating pattern designs that will end up on a scarf and or a tote bag.

Here’s a photo of my pattern design work in progress.

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After I snapped the above photo I saw my math mistake. Do you see it?

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I did! And fixed it. Hugs and thanks to math teachers everywhere!

Now I’ll do need to do the digital hocus pocus needed to submit my designs to the apparel company I work with in San Francisco California.

But I’ll try to get some rest first.

You can see my full studio pattern design collection via this link: http://www.shopvida.com/collections/sue-clancy

just looking and artist details

I’ve recently read a book about Balthus, a Polish – French artist painting in the late 20th century. He was convinced that the biographical details about a painter were not essential to the study of art. He objected to the wordiness of art books and said that a book about his artwork should be a book of pictures not a book of words about pictures.

When someone asked Balthus for biographical details he replied in a telegram:  “No biographical details. Begin: Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. Now let us look at the pictures. Regards. B.”

In many ways I share his viewpoint; let the pictures stand alone! Just look! Let each viewer’s own thoughts become the words attached to the art. This is part of why my most recent art book “Dogs by Sue Clancy” is largely wordless. Only 245 words and most of those words are in the very back of the book.

And yet I’m very aware that most people when looking at art also look for something that gives them a clue about what they are looking at – who created this? why? how?

I think some biographical details about the artist can also be helpful clues about the artwork. Art creation is a product of living one’s life and processing it via ones artwork – that includes an artist’s geographical location and era.  For example I came to the art genre of “animals/dogs in art” because of living for a time in Oklahoma where many people assume that climate change is a hoax. Many in Oklahoma have an anthropocentric view of the world, meaning that they see human culture is separate from, above and the whole point of the existence of nature. Humans are the most important being, nature is not important, nature is only for human use.

I did not and do not share that view. I see humans and nature as co-relational. Humans, animals and plants need each other. We are bringing forth the world together.

So I began, over 20 years ago now, to create anthropomorphic artworks depicting a merger of animals and human culture. All species and breeds are included.  Though I have periods when I focus on one species, like I’m doing now with my dogs, my work generally includes a range of life forms.  Even as I’ve worked within the “dogs in art” genre I’ve carefully tried to include a wide diversity of colors and sizes of dogs.  Metaphorically I’m illustrating that we are all in this life together.

Now that I live happily in the Pacific Northwest my artwork has taken on a joy that it didn’t have before. I am still doing my anthropomorphic art-style but my colors, shapes, lines, patterns have changed, my compositions have expanded, there’s more variety/diversity, more humor, there are even more dogs in my artwork and more pleasantness. Here in the culture of the Pacific Northwest there is a celebration of and careful care given to the co-existence of humans and nature. I’ve been learning even more about the relationship between humans and the natural world.  I think some of my thinking is reflected in my new book. In fact I’m not sure I would have created this book if I still lived in Oklahoma…

But enough with the words! Let us now look at a few of the artworks in “Dogs by Sue Clancy” https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Dogs-By-Sue-Clancy :