Don Clausen Paintings
American, 1930-2020
Don was a passionate artist all his life. He started out with his animal drawings for children while attending art school. He then went on to his more abstract “boat paintings” and finally settled on abstract expressionism. His idea of a vacation was carving wood sculptures. He showed his art for many years at the De Tours Gallery and Maiden Lane Gallery in San Francisco, Zantmans in Carmel, Alta Galleria in Berkeley and had art shows in Grand Rapids Michigan in 2016 and 2019, plus various other galleries and shows over the years. One of his paintings is on the label of the 1986 Kenwood “artist series” Cabernet Sauvignon.
Born in 1930, Clausen is a graduate of the California College of Art in Oakland, California. “I always search for new ways of seeing things,” he says. “I’m an incurable experimenter. I live for art.” He uses a palette knife for his oil abstract paintings; in the 1960s and 1970s he also painted seascapes and did some sculpture in wood and metal.
In his luminous abstractions, Clausen employs every color of the rainbow, the strong lines forming geometric shapes that appear to fly through space. Nothing is weighed down in his paintings; it’s as if images came to him from outer space or other realms. He turns the physical world into dabs and streaks of color that convey an engulfing sense of motion.
Whether abstract or representational, his works convey enormous energy and vitality, like masterpieces by Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning. They also are distinctive for their sculptural quality, a result of his thickly layering the paint and then slicing down to the canvas with a palette knife or section of a venetian blind; his choice of tools is as eclectic as his subject matter. “I’ll paint with anything,” he says. “I like sticks because I can carve into the paint with them.”
Few artists demonstrate Clausen’s versatility, proved by his genius for shifting from one artistic form to another. He shows outstanding talent for portraiture, conveying a profound sense of his subjects’ characters, through sensitive detail, such as the tilt of a head, expression of the mouth or smile lines.
A great admirer of Rembrandt and Vermeer, Clausen has learned how to evoke a psychological state from studying those masters. He also paints landscapes and cityscapes, particularly splendid is a golden-brown San Francisco that he did of the city long ago. He has spent a lot of time studying the broad horizons of French painter Vlaminck. “Everything is abstract more or less,” he says, “as it’s fundamentally composed of shapes and lines.”(Biography provided by Robert Azensky Fine Art)
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Artist: Don Clausen
'Abstract Landscape', California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, Thiebaud
By Don Clausen
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left, 'Clausen' for Don Clausen (American, 1930-2020) and dated 1974.
A self-proclaimed "sculptor of paint," Donald Clausen used tools of his own invention to create co...
Category
1970s Abstract Don Clausen Paintings
Materials
Masonite, Oil
Mid Century Modern Abstract Painting by Don Clausen C.1959
By Don Clausen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Mid Century Modern Abstract Painting by Don Clausen C.1959
Early abstract by Clausen
Original oil on board
Dimensions 48" wide x 28.25" high
The frame measures 52" wide x 33.25" ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Don Clausen Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Titled “Sarpi”
By Don Clausen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Abstract
oil on canvas
By notable California artist
Titled “Sarpi”
Dated 1982
Category
1980s Don Clausen Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
1974 California Bay Area Abstract Expressionist Bold Oil Painting Don Clausen
By Don Clausen
Located in Surfside, FL
Don Clausen American (b. 1930)
Untitled (1974)
Oil on board
Hand signed lower left and verso
Framed 11.25 X 13.5 sight 9 x 11.25 inches
Don Clausen is an American Postwar & Contemporary painter who was born in 1930. Don Clausen is a graduate of California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California. He lives and works in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area. He mainly works in oils on canvas, but sometimes does sculptures and assemblages. In his luminous abstractions, Clausen employs every color of the rainbow, the strong lines forming geometric shapes that appear to fly through space. Nothing is weighed down in his paintings; it’s as if images came to him from outer space or other realms. He turns the physical world into dabs and streaks of color that convey an engulfing sense of motion.
Whether abstract expressionism or representational, his works convey enormous energy and vitality, like masterpieces by Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. They also are distinctive for their sculptural quality, a result of his thickly layering the paint and then slicing down to the canvas with a palette knife or section of a venetian blind; his choice of tools is as eclectic as his subject matter. His son is the well regarded sculptor Eric Clausen, a master blacksmith who does sculpture in iron. An active part of the Bay Area arts scene, Don Clausen was contemporaries and consociates of people such as Geraldine Duncann, Donald Namohala Yuen,Jade Fon...
Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Don Clausen Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
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Don Clausen paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Don Clausen paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Don Clausen in oil paint, paint, board and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Don Clausen paintings, so small editions measuring 14 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Vera Simons, Ronald Ahlstrom, and Elizabeth Riley. Don Clausen paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $950 and tops out at $3,850, while the average work can sell for $2,250.