#014 - "The Origins" Series Painting

Clarisa is a self-taught British artist born to a Chilean mother and British father, she grew up in Amsterdam and moved to Chile at the age of 19. She is a former professional Irish Dancer/Teacher and Choreographer who directed one of the largest Irish Dance Schools in South America and toured both nationally and internationally with several groups and bands. Clarisa started painting in 2017 when moving back to the UK and while recovering from a dance injury. ARTIST STATEMENT In 2017, after moving back from Santiago to London, I had to take a break from my dancing activities. After so many years of having been involved in the production of my shows, choreographies and costume and stage design I was missing the creative process very much, it was then that I started choreographing again, but this time with my hands. Due to my mixed heritage and background as a professional Irish Dancer, the British Isles, Celtic world and Easter Island have been key sources of inspiration influencing many of the themes and colours of my artwork. All these cultures share a curious similarity, standing stones - dolmens, moais and menhirs-, carvings, rupestrian painting, tattoos/body art, colours and textures. Also, having spent much of my life in Chile, the beautiful art of Chile’s indigenous people inspires my work too. Most of these elements are present in my work, in one way or another. My artwork is abstract and most of my paintings are constructed of many layers which are then scraped and paint is reapplied again to create an aged and distressed patina, textures and marks. I also love working with a neutral and muted palette but my creations will always depend on the colours and shapes that inspire me in that specific moment and also by using traditional and non-traditional mixed media techniques/materials such as acrylics, collage, markmaking, inks, graphite, oil pastels and pens on canvas, paper or wood panels. Each of my pieces is a dance between the painting and I and I enjoy the process of starting with one idea and then seeing how it t takes on a life all of its own.