Clarissa Koch ROI

Statement

At present Clarissa is drawn to silence and contemplation in her work, which often deals with single figures deep in thought, in their own world. She has been attracted to painting by the images of the great masters of the past and her interest lies in the craft of being a painter.

Methodology

Clarissa works in oil on canvas, using mostly gessoed canvas from Italy. Although in general she buys her paints ready made from specialist paint makers such as Micheal Harding and Robert Doak, she also occasionally grinds her own paints when she needs to achieve a more unusual richness of texture or luminosity.Whenever possible Clarissa works from life in a north facing studio. A painting will begin as a thumbnail sketch in her diary. It is then blocked in as a rough full-size drawing. Depending on the idea, she either follows this with a detailed drawing to resolve the finer points of the composition which can then be transferred to the canvas and will change very little in the process of painting, or she may very loosely block in the first composition on the canvas and work out the finer details with the model during the first sitting. After the initial block-in, the painting develops in layers, each becoming richer and more detailed. Clarissa usually works on a painting between two and six months. Often she is working on two or three paintings at the same time. Framing too is very important to her. The frame is often part of the final idea for the image before she begins to paint. All her frames are handmade in Italy.For her drawings she uses charcoal, chalk and sanguine when working on a larger scale, or silverpoint or pencil on prepared paper for smaller pieces. Whenever possible she prefers using handmade papers.

Bio

1972 Born on 13 October in Austria

1990-97 Independent Studies of Classical Drawing and Painting Techniques

1997 Studied Anatomy at University College London

1997–99 Studied at Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy

2000-03 Studied under Odd Nerdrum, Norway

2001-07 Taught 19th Century Drawing Techniques, Renaissance Drawing Techniques

2005 Lecturer on Silverpoint Drawing, Summer School, Cambridge University

2006 Elected an Associate Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters

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