Month: May 2015

Clayton’s Wilmington Club presentation, “Looking at Paintings: More than Meets the Eye,” was both informative and entertaining. (See May 14 News.)  Being a big picture type of person, Clayton used analogies from everyday life to illustrate points about how he views and reacts to paintings.  With his ability to hone in on details, he pointed out five elements that appear in paintings which consistently engage the viewer.  These elements appear in a variety of genres, and cultures and span centuries. The presentation was well received by a variety of people, some for whom the paintings were familiar, and some who rarely visit museums.  One attendee who is color blind was very appreciative that although colors were discussed, color recognition was not key to enjoying these paintings.

Clayton plans to offer the presentation or versions of it in the future for other events.

Clayton has always enjoyed analyzing and then articulating his thoughts about paintings and sculptures.  He visits museums whenever he is in different area, and focuses on pieces which reveal more on second and third inspections.  For example, Clayton returned to Le Musée d’Arte Moderne in Paris a number of times to understand why a painting by Hélion, was so appealing.

Recently Clayton has been consolidating his thoughts for a presentation on May 20 at the Wilmington Club.  “Looking at Paintings: More than Meets the Eye” will cover a number of complex paintings including  Composition Abstraite by Jean Hélion, The Daughters of  Edward Darley Boit by John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer’s The Fox Hunt.