Meet Clare Scott | Landscape Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clare Scott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clare, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?

The West called to me in the ’70’s when I came to Colorado from Chicago as a young woman with an artistic preoccupation but a professional occupation as a Social Worker eventually earning my Master’s in Social Work from University of Denver. Once I felt I had completed my work in that field I embraced the practice of painting full-time. My friends and family say they have not seen someone transform themselves into a new role so completely as they have seen the transformation in me as I moved from Clinical Social Worker to Artist but, it was always there.

Why fine art? I’ve always been a visual person, patterns, colors, shapes, line and all the other elements of 2 dimensional art has drawn my eye, piqued my interest, comforted me and made me smile. I very quickly combined my passion for art, with my love of the outdoors and pursued landscape painting with an emphasis on painting outside, on the spot or “en plein air”.

Vocation is a more accurate term than career as I continue to pursue this line of work regardless of the financial rewards. At this point I paint what I want, sell what I can. I liken selling a painting to fly fishing; it’s lovely to be out in the stream, casting a line over the water, taking in the sounds and sights of the mountain landscape and then getting a bite or even catching a trout, 99.9% of the challenge and enjoyment comes before the trout is landed.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Fine art is not easy. It is not comfortable, and it rare to be lucrative. There are technical challenges, and skills that need lots of practice. One of the hardest things about painting is that to complete the circle visual art it must be seen. One can of course paint to one’s heart’s content and fill drawers and walls in their own studio with paintings therefore, keeping the whole practice for your own personal enjoyment. But completing the circle means letting others see your work. That requires you get your art out of your studio. Making art is incredibly personal. Displaying art is incredibly public. An artist must be sensitive to transfer their feelings into art and thick skinned enough to put your painting out there. Managing judgment and accepting praise is part of the journey of being an artist. I am still learning how to let go and let my art speak for itself. To me the idea that as a landscape painter I would pick one very small part of this amazing planet, figure out how to take that 3 dimensional view and make it fit on a 2 demential space then find another person on the planet who not only shares my view but is willing to reward me for my success of making of painting well… that is a challenge is it not? What keeps me painting? I love color, shape, line, and the feel of soft pastels in my fingers with nothing between me and my paper. I arrived at this point in my art vocation by setting goals, for example setting the goal to literally and figuratively hang with my peers. That is, to be able to paint outside with other artists and create paintings that can hold their own in a show with those same artists. Clare Scott Art is about taking a look outside, choosing a small but intriguing part of our world and putting it through my filter, applying my skills and creating something that captures a moment and a place.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
“Come on” I would say, let’s get outside and take a hike on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We would walk up the Onahu Trail noticing the intersection between the Troublesome Fire and the unburned part of the park. Back at the car we would open some local beer and breath deep. Next we would paddle kayaks around the islands in Shadow Mountain Lake, looking for moose and deer who have crossed over, during the winter, on the ice from the shore or swam across in pursuit of tasty willows. Back in Denver we would go to the Denver Art Museum and stroll through the Western Art collection, take in the Eastern Art Collection with special emphasis on South Asia and then rest by the oversized mama cow and her alert calf on the south side of the museum. Then off to a yin yoga class to stretch and unwind. Later, grab some tacos and maybe another beer..

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Of course my many art teachers from high school through college and beyond encouraged me and challenged me. But things really turned the corner when I met up with ‘The Posse’, a group of dedicated painters who pointed me in the right direction and lit my fire. Each of them are talented painters who paint in my preferred medium, soft pastel and all of them love to paint our world, Sabrina Stiles, Mike Ray, Norbert Nagel, Dawn Buckingham, and Mark Brockman. Two other painters who are also dedicated plein air painters, Anita Winter and Jennifer Riefenberg have propped me up pulled me along and shared in my enjoyment of landscape painting.

Website: clarescottart.com

Instagram: Clare Scott Art