Don Clausen Art

A large and arresting 1976 untitled abstract oil painting on canvas by notable California Bay Area artist Don Clausen (b. 1930–2020). Dominated by various shades of red, with promin...

Large Scale Contemporary Textural Abstract with Red, Blue, Orange by Don Clausen "Peritorm", a vivid large-scale abstract expressionist painting by California artist Don Clausen (American, 1930-2020). In this contemporary abstract piece, created in 1991, broad strokes featuring a spectrum of vibrant color from deep red, to rust orange, to light blue slice across the large canvas with an energetic layering effect. A linear ridged texture is created by Clausen's use of palette knives and other unconventional tools. Signed and dated "Clausen '91", and titled "Peritorm" on verso. Displayed in a modern black vinyl frame. Canvas size: 45"H x 43"W. 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...

Vivid mid century abstract expressionist titled, "Color Fun" by California artist Don Clausen. 1962. Signed and dated upper right corner. Presented in original wood frame. Image size: 15"H x 15"W. Framed size: 21.5"H x 21.5"W. An abstract painting of the Gloucester, Mass. boat works and docks. Born in 1930, Clausen is a graduate of the California College of Art in Oakland, California. He and his wife live in Piedmont. “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. For models, he sometimes uses photos from women’s magazines or finds pictures of some of his heroes, like singer Ella Fitzgerald and comedian Lenny Bruce...