Work samples

  • Harbinger
    Harbinger
    India ink and turmeric dye on 48" x 9' paper.

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About Claudia

Baltimore City  
Claudia Cappelle was born in Chicago, Illinois where her appreciation for art began at an early age with visits to the Art Institute. She studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Illustration, and is currently in the MFA Studio Arts program at Towson University.
Claudia has lived in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1983, with a brief stint in San Francisco in the late 80’s and early 90… more
View Claudia's Resume
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Alchemy in Nature

In this series I explore a sense of connectivity in nature from a macro/macro perspective. Forms of life that relate to interconnectivity such as the nerve plexus and circulatory system as well as streams that come together to form rivers, branches of trees and its underground network of roots share a commonality. I collaborate with objects found in nature and natural dyes made from organic materials to create mark making. Intricacies of detail and varieties of form become texture. This texture within nature exists in a given space at a moment in time. My studio is my laboratory where I allow the process to become part of the creative experience. As the work progresses I look for forms that will bring the formless chaos to an integrated system.
  • Autumnal
    Autumnal
    India ink and coffee dye stained abstract painting, 48"x 9'
  • Harbinger
    Harbinger
    India ink and turmeric dye abstract painting, 48"x 9'
  • The Nature of Time I
    The Nature of Time I
    India ink and coffee dye stained abstract painting, 48" x 9'
  • The Nature of Time II
    The Nature of Time II
    India ink and coffee dye stained abstract painting, 48" x 9'
  • The Nature of Time III
    The Nature of Time III
    India ink abstract painting, 48" x 9'
  • Nature of Time V
    Nature of Time V
    India ink and coffee dye stained abstract painting, 48" x 9'
  • Nature of Time VI
    Nature of Time VI
    India ink and coffee dye stained abstract painting, 48" x 9'
  • Nature of Time IV
    Nature of Time IV
    India ink abstract painting on paper, 48" x 9'
  • Nature of Time VII
    Nature of Time VII
    India ink, terra cotta clay, white tempera on paper mural, 48" x 9'
  • Night Dwellers
    Night Dwellers
    India ink abstract painting, 48" x 9'
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    • Monotypes

    This series of monotypes references nature inspired by an inner landscape of invisible worlds. Abstraction is the process that explores seeing inward to express the spiritual essence of life and nature. This empowers my own visual language to emerge and is an ongoing quest that opens infinite possibilities.
    • In the Cloud
      In the Cloud
      Monotype using black oil based ink on paper. 12 x 10"
    • Coherence
      Coherence
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 12 x 10"
    • Collection
      Collection
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 12 x 10"
    • Notations I
      Notations I
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 24 x 18"
    • Connections
      Connections
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 11 x 9"
    • Notations II
      Notations II
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 24 x 18"
    • Domain
      Domain
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 11 x 9"
    • The Loop
      The Loop
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 11 x 9"
    • Gathering
      Gathering
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 11 x 9"
    • The Path
      The Path
      Monotype using black oil-based ink on paper, 11 x 9"
    •

    • Charcoal drawings/paintings

    This series includes drawings that were intended as preparatory sketches for paintings but then took on a life of their own. Charcoal, India ink, and oil were used to create mark marking that was purely spontaneous and intitive, which allowed the drawing to dictate its direction and course of action. I responded to the imagery that emerged but did not force or direct it toward a preconceived image. The discovery that the unconscioius mind knows more than the conscious during creation. 
    • The Wall
      The Wall
      Charcoal and oil an cut-outs on paper, approx. 48 x 6'
    • Dystopia
      Dystopia
      Charcoal and graphite abstract landscape on paper, 48 x 7'
    • Ebb and Flow I
      Ebb and Flow I
      Charcoal and graphite abstract landscape on paper, 48" x 10'
    • Ebb and Flow II
      Ebb and Flow II
      Charcoal and graphite on paper, 48" x 10'
    • Ephemeral
      Ephemeral
      Ephemeral, charcoal and oil on paper, 9' x 48"
    • Fallen Tree
      Fallen Tree
      Fallen Tree, charcoal and graphite on paper, 48" x 9'
    • Melting
      Melting
      Melting, Charcoal, India ink, wax, and white tempera paint, 48" x 9'
    • Digression
      Digression
      Charcoal and graphite on paper, 48" x 9'
    • The Terrain
      The Terrain
      Charcoal and graphite on arches paper.
    •

    • Silk paintings

    During the COVID-19 pandemic I began working with silk, a new substrate to breathe life into. COVID gave me an awareness and newly found appreciation of our most important and overlooked aspect of life—the wonderous breath that comes freely and naturally. The recognition of this perception brought about an unexpected change in my process and the materials used for painting. Silk is diaphanous, possesses the qualities of being organically sound, a natural luster, and has a delicate texture that expresses the ephemerality of life. Dyes are absorbed into the natural fibers producing subtle layers of transparent color that infuse richness and depth.
    • Awakening
      Awakening
      My work references nature inspired by an inner landscape of invisible worlds. Abstraction is the process that explores seeing inward to express the spiritual essence of life and nature.
    • Garden Party
      Garden Party
      Garden Party, Jacquard dyes on silk, 55 x 28"
    • Sacred Garden
      Sacred Garden
      Sacred Garden, Jacquard dyes on silk, 67x27.5"
    • Seduction
      Seduction
      Seduction, Jacquard dyes on silk 27.5x76.5
    • Groundwater
      Groundwater
      Groundwater, Jacquard dyes on silk, 77 x 27.5
    • Illumination
      Illumination
      Illumination, Jacquard dyes on silk, 27.5 x76"
    • Prana Force
      Prana Force
      Prana Force, Jacquard dyes on silk, 28x 55"
    • Spirit of Fire
      Spirit of Fire
      Spirit of Fire, Jacquard dyes on silk, 76x27.5"
    • Veils of Illusion
      Veils of Illusion
      Veils of Illusion, Jacquard dyes on silk, 28x55"
    • Song of Spirits
      Song of Spirits
      Song of Spirits, Jacquard dyes on silk, 77x27"
    •

    • Impressions on Canvas

    My work is process based. I explore gestural line and mark marking to express a symbolic language that represents the understructure of an ecosystem within a macro/microcosmic view. My work has references to nature and is  analogous to complex interaction of networks within the invisible world. I explore systems and sublime dualities; the illusive and ethereal yet concrete; the infinite within limitations, and the contrast of opposing qualities within the infinitesimal to the vast world as an energetic grid connecting all life.
    • Illumination
      Illumination
      Acrylic and graphite mark marking on canvas 27.5 x76"
    • Eco-Anxiety
      Eco-Anxiety
      Acrylic and graphite mark marking on canvas 27.5 x 76"
    • Tempest.jpeg
      Tempest.jpeg
      Acrylic and graphite mark marking on canvas 30 x 30"
    • Energy Forces.jpeg
      Energy Forces.jpeg
      Acrylic and graphite mark marking on canvas
    •

    • Flora Series

    In 2004 I studied the work of  Odilon Redon, a French symbolist painter. The Flora Series were very much influenced by the work Redon. I began to trust my unconscious to allow the spiritual connection to be present in my work. The engagement with this new process became an exploration of seeing inward to express the spiritual essence of nature in abstract form. 


     
    • Flora Triptych Series IV
      Flora Triptych Series IV
      The blossom like forms float across the painting in a repetitive configuration with a rhythmic movement in a balanced distribution creating a feeling of harmony.
    • Flora Triptych Series II
      Flora Triptych Series II
      Bloom like shapes floats across the canvas in an ethereal a field of illusive organic shapes creating a poetic harmony.
    • Flora Triptych Series I
      Flora Triptych Series I
      Floral like shapes created from the imagination are centered within the triptych. The shapes that are less distinct repeat in a pattern of movement and balance in an ethereal field—with the possibility of their ever changing endless variation.
    • Garden Triptych
      Garden Triptych
      There is a balanced distribution of elements (color, value, and texture) in this composition. The imaginative flora like organic forms floats in a glowing field of color evoking a feeling of harmony and peace.
    • Blue Flora
      Blue Flora
      The light glowing circular forms suggests an expression of revelation in a sea of blue.
    • Flora Diptych Series III
      Flora Diptych Series III
      Many of the forms are not solidified in order to create renewable closure for the viewer. The amorphous forms appear to float across the canvas.
    • Yellow Flora
      Yellow Flora
      Two single organic shapes forms juxtaposed to one another bursting with energy releasing particles of life.
    • White Flora
      White Flora
      Intuitive painting of my inner reality composed of monochromatic with some hints of yellow and green. The forms come and go. This painting has a mysterious and transcendent quality.
    • Alabaster Flowers
      Alabaster Flowers
      The title of this painting suggests flowers, even though they are imaginative organic forms. The blooms appear to be floating since the space below appears un-delineated with thin veiled washes suggesting that only the blooms are real.
    • Flora Expressions I
      Flora Expressions I
      This painting began as a stream of consciousness. The organic forms appear to be floating and are inscribed with sgraffito markings. Throughout the painting there are elements that are dissipating, or emerging or feeling like they might emerge anew.
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