Clare Elsaesser is one of my favorite artists because she draws realistic dreamscapes, the real reimagined. She lives and works in Jenner, California–a seemingly imagined place made real that’s nestled on the Northern California Coast where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean.
Good art, bad art–it’s all subjective, so the real measure of a piece is the emotional response it elicits and, thus, the connection it creates with the viewer. This is one of Elsaesser’s greatest gifts: her art is relatable yet elevated, like when you read a poem and it explains your emotions in ways you never could. Her compositions are innocently voyeuristic, as in “To The Night,” and refreshingly irreverent without losing their impact, as with “Pillow Land.”
She works with matte acrylics, textured watercolor paper, wood panels and also incorporates sewing into her work, which is for sale in forms ranging from original paintings to 5×7 prints on her ETSY site. You can also keep up with her ongoing work in a variety of outlets (Instagram, Pinterest, Blogspot, Facebook), and might I suggest giving her prints as gifts? I did just that, for Christmas a few years ago, and her affordable gems were a smashing success.
Nostos Algos 