Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #9, February 26, 2015

When you have a fresh new pint of beer in front of you, and you look down at the foam, have you ever seen shapes resembling something?  Maybe if you were feeling extra artistic and had a moment that can only be described as the “aesthetic experience”.  I always get that feeling when I stare into a pint.  Like in a magic crystal ball, I see visions of the possible future, memories of past events, and sometimes inspiration strikes.  So, for this week’s Thirsty Thursday painting I painted a version of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night as if I walked up to a pint and saw this sublime work of art in the foam.  The painting is composed as if the viewer is looking directly down into the pint.  Of course I have never hallucinated the Starry Night in a pint glass.  Instead, it is a metaphor for my muse.  I think this hyperbole appropriately states how important beer has been to me as an artist.  Everybody knows enough about Van Gogh, so I spare you the history lecture.  I recommend watching the Kirk Douglas movie Lust for Life, if you want to learn more about the famous artist.

Cheers to living life to its fullest!

The original painting sold. You can purchase limited-edition prints, or order a custom beer painting at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #9 by Scott Clendaniel. February 26th, 2015. Starry Pint. 11″x14″, oil on panel.

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Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #8, February 19, 2015

This week’s Thirsty Thursday painting veers from the pattern of famous paintings turned into beer-themed art, because I got a call on Tuesday morning from a reporter from Channel 11 News who wanted to do a story about my art. She asked if she could film in my studio, but because my studio is really small, I suggested filming at one of my favorite local breweries, Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Co., because I have several paintings hanging there, the beer is great, and on Wednesdays (and Fridays) growlers are only $5! I also do chalkboard art at this place, so I spend quite a bit of time there. I haven’t painted live in a brewery since November, and I missed doing it, so I suggested doing the interview while I paint a beer. I painted this pint of Urban Wilderness Pale Ale by Sleeping Lady Brewing Co. on the railing of the deck, because this pub has the best deck in town that is packed on sunny days in the summer. This beer is mostly true to its style, but is more hopped than standard pale ales.

I was flattered to be interviewed by Heather Hintze from KTVA. I always worry whether I sound intelligent when speaking about my beer paintings, but figure it will be better to say something about them than nothing at all. Hopefully Heather will edit out all the stupid things I may have said. Painting and talking in front of a camera at the same time is more challenging than you may think. If you live in Anchorage, tune in tonight at 6 PM to Channel 11 News to see my segment.

If you have not visited “The Goose”, I highly recommend it. Keep in mind that if you’re drinking your pint on the deck in high sunlight, move your beer into the shade, or cover it. Direct UV light can damage a beer in just a couple minutes, and will make it taste “skunky”. Thanks to Gary Klopfer, Greg Mills, Dion, Dave, and the rest of the fabulous crew at the Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing! May the restaurant prosper and stay true to its beer-centric roots!

You can purchase this painting, or limited-edition prints at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #8 by Scott Clendaniel. February 19th, 2015. Urban Wilderness Pale Ale by Sleeping Lady Brewing Co. 8″x10″, oil on panel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #7, February 12, 2015

The Scream, or as Edvard Munch (1863-1944) called it, Der Schrei Der Natur (The Scream of Nature) is one of the most famous paintings in history. Art critic Arthur Ludlow even describes it as “the Mona Lisa of modern art.” In 1893 Munch created four pieces of the same composition; one with pastels, and three in oil paint. The pastel version sold in 2012 for over $119 million. Ironically, Munch lived on a tiny stipend from his father for much of his early career, and was subjected to a large amount of negative criticism by art authorities, as well as his family members. Munch’s iconic masterpiece is the “study of the soul, that is to say the study of my own self,” as stated by Munch himself. It was painted to represent a day when the artist was out for a walk, and dropped back from his friends when he felt tired and ill. As the sun set, he says he leaned against the fence, and saw and felt the scream of nature, which he describes as tongues of fire and blood reaching over the black and bluish fjord.

Subject to bouts of anxiety and mental illness, Munch was institutionalized in 1908 for anxiety and hallucinations from his rough and tumble life for most of a whole year. Munch lived out his last two decades in Oslo on a self-sufficient estate, in relative comfort, having created a following for his artwork, and produced many paintings of nudes from a steady group of female models. When Munch was 76 he was worried about the Nazis confiscating his “degenerate art” and he hid his strongest pieces, including The Scream. When Munch died at 80, his paintings were bequeathed to the city of Oslo. In 1963 the Edvard Munch Museum opened with over 1,000 original paintings, 4,000 sketches, and 18,000 prints.

I painted this version of The Scream to show the anxiety one may feel because of an empty pint. I cannot take credit for this idea, as my friend, and fellow beer-enthusiast Rich Morgan came up with this concept. I thought it was brilliant when he told me about it, and I had to execute it. I call this painting The Scream over an Empty Pint.

The original painting sold.  You can purchase a limited-edition print, or order a custom beer painting at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #7 by Scott Clendaniel. February 12th, 2015. The Scream over an Empty Pint. 11″x14″, oil on panel.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #6, February 5, 2015

I hope you can guess which artist I am emulating in this painting. I was hesitant to attempt this piece due to the differences in styles that he and I utilize. My palette is different – I don’t include black, instead using dark purples, reds and blues to shadow dark objects. I also use more texture, making high levels of detail a bit more difficult, however I tried to raise the bar on this one due to popular demand.

In case I have left you in the dark, the artist I am emulating is Salvador Dali (1904-1989). His Catalan name is Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marqués de Dalí de Pubol.  Quite a mouthful. I’m glad to report that this painter didn’t die tragically early in life, like so many famous artists. Dali, the most famous Surrealist artist, known for his exacting, but strange and unique paintings, also created many other forms of artwork including sculptures, films, and photography. He was also known to collaborate with many notable artists.

The symbolism in a Dali painting is important. Each item in the painting is included for a reason. The melting pocket watches that are morphing into clocks represent time. Since these clocks are melting, they are without time, representing eternity. In this beer-themed painting, the melting clocks are saying that it’s always beer-thirty somewhere. The crutch symbolizes human weaknesses, but also superhuman abilities brought on by art and intelligence (and beer). The elephant with the long spindly legs (look closely inside the cutout of the pint) represents human frailty. The elephants are shackled to earth by gravity, yet they are reaching for more than what is available. So Dali gave them elongated legs forever stretching to the sky, but still connected to the earth. The egg represents luck, fertility, love and hope.

I have entitled this painting The Supernatural Pint of Everlasting Effervescence. I included the symbols that I found in Dali paintings to fit with what is subconsciously happening when I think about a pint of beer. I hope you enjoy this piece, and come back next week for another Thirsty Thursday Project entry.

The original oil painting sold.  You can order a limited-edition print, or a custom oil painting at my Etsy shop.

Thirsty Thursday Beer Painting #6 by Scott Clendaniel. February 5th, 2015. The Supernatural Pint of Everlasting Effervescence. 18″x24″, oil on panel.

12th Man, Seattle Seahawks Porsche

Here we are celebrating another colossal sporting event, one so important that we stop everything we are doing and crowd around the TV for over three hours. If you are not into football, the commercials and snacks are worth your time, not to mention the halftime show! I was in Sun Valley, Idaho the day after the Seahawks won the conference game. I was surprised to see a very shiny Porsche Turbo in the parking lot decked out with Seahawks colors and the 12^th Man logo! I took photos of it, because I like painting cars, and when I got back to Anchorage, I searched for this car on the Internet and found out that it belongs to Seahawks fan J. DeBruler. He owns Accutint Bellevue, a company that tints windows and customizes and details high-end car finishes. So he dressed his $80,000 turbo Porsche out in the 12^th Man digs. He wins as the biggest Hawks fan I’ve ever heard of. He plans to drive the car to several rival stadiums and take photos of it there. I painted it right in CenturyLink Field. For all you Patriots fans, if you have a sweet red, white, and blue auto you want to bring to my attention, I will paint it too! I’m an equal opportunity sports fan, although, I think there will be a 90% Hawks crowd at the party I am attending later today… We don’t have a football team in Alaska, and Washington is the closest state (I was also born there).

Cheers to the 12^th Man, and may the best team win!

You can purchase this painting, or a limited-edition print at my Etsy shop.

12th Man, Seattle Seahawks Porsche. 8″x10″, oil on panel.