Pin drop silence is what Clarice Vaz
requires while painting. Her faithful Alsatian rests at the foot of the table
while Clarice is busy painting in her small studio, facing the green fields of
Saligao. “At times I even stop breathing as I see the painting come to life
with the vibrant colours and the way it flows and takes form using the fluid
art technique,” says Clarice.
A mother of two, Clarice is a trained
nurse who gave up her profession to give full attention to her sons. Her mother
was an artist but Clarice picked up the paintbrush just a few years back. After
the loss of her elder son, Craig, who passed away of a heart ailment while
completing his engineering education in 2011, Clarice has devoted her work to
him as each of her paintings bears his signature. “He is always with me through
my paintings. He always said he would be famous someday; he is today,” says
Clarice as she shows her beautiful yet thought provoking paintings.
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Clarice has no formal training in
painting and yet her works show no inkling of mistakes. Her exhibition,
‘Embracing the Beat of my Art’, comprising 30 paintings, bears witness to that.
She has used various techniques including spin painting, fluid painting and
syringe painting. “As I am a nurse, I am familiar with the syringe, so I
decided to make art using it. I have a series of paintings using this
technique,” demonstrates Clarice using Golden art colours.
Working on this exhibition for the past
two years, Clarice started with the Coloured Church series which are four
paintings of the Mae de Deus Church, Saligao before moving on to other themes
like Goan Art Series and ending the entire series with a painting titled the
Church Congregation. “This painting depicts the ten churches and chapels of Old
Goa, which was the main centre for trade, education and religion also known as
Velha Goa. All the greenery that can be seen in the paintings is where houses,
shops and busy streets were brimming with life. Ships entered from the river
and their cargo was carried through the Viceroy’s Arch. The city was hit by
epidemic and today we have only the churches,” explains Clarice.
This is Clarice’s second exhibition,
having participated in an earlier group exhibition, Chitrasangam 2014. “I hope
to show my extraordinary methods and the hard work I have put to create these
artworks for this exhibition,” concludes Clarice, who enjoys the freedom of
painting without deadlines.
‘Embracing
the Beat of my Art’, a solo exhibition of paintings by Clarice Vaz will be
inaugurated today, September 26, 2014 at Kala Academy, Panjim at 4.30pm. The
exhibition will be open to the public on September 27 and 28, 2014 from 10am to
7pm
