I am so excited to share a new series here on the blog with you. I have been working with some wonderfully creative people over the last few years, and have met so many of them through blogging and the interwebs, that I thought it might be fun to do an interview series and share it that same way with you. So here we go.. to kick it off I asked one of my all time favorite artists Clare Elsaesser 5 things...
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I don't know if I ever had a concrete idea about this when I was really little, but by the time I was in junior high I kind of had an idea I wanted to be an artist of some type. I took my first photography class around this time, and loved it.
I don't know if I ever had a concrete idea about this when I was really little, but by the time I was in junior high I kind of had an idea I wanted to be an artist of some type. I took my first photography class around this time, and loved it.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration all over the place: the internet of course, books, daydreams, and movies. And I get a ton of inspiration and encouragement from studying the work of successful, established artists- my husband Kai (also a painter) and I are amassing a collection of big, fancy art books/watching our bank accounts dwindle.
Do you work from home? Office? Studio?
My studio is right next to my home, in a tiny little guest house. We are hoping to move shortly to a home where both Kai and I can have bigger studios. Right now I have stacks of paintings everywhere, and am constantly tripping over things!
Are you a City girl or a Country girl?
I am definitely a country girl! I grew up in LA, and went to college in Boston, and realized in my late twenties I am more and more happy the farther away I get from the hustle and bustle. I love open space, and spend most of my free time just spacing out, which is a lot easier to do when it is quiet and I am surrounded by nature, which I definitely am here, on the Sonoma coast.
What are you reading right now?
I am on a naturalist kick! I just finished reading A Lady's life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird, and am currently listening to a John Muir audio book, but not doing so well because I seem to fall asleep about five minutes in every night. John Muir is really compelling, but the narrator has such a soothing drawl it's like instant slumber when I press play!
All images from Clare Elsaesser