Emily Clarke

Paintings That Swing

Emily Clarke captures the “essence of swing” in paintings because painting swing dancing allows her to combine the two things she loves to do the most.

When comparing dancing and painting, Emily suggests that painting involves a similar harmony of movement –the movement of the paintbrush and the paint across the canvas. “I love the challenge of trying to capture the energy and movement of swing dance in a still painting. There are so many interesting poses in swing that you don’t get when painting people in other settings”.

Ms. Clarke completed her Bachelor’s in Studio Art at Furman University in Greenville, SC in 2002, with a concentration in painting. It was here, at Furman, that Emily’s interest in Swing dancing began. She then went on to achieve a Master of Science in Art Therapy at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2004.
 
Her interest in dancing went full swing in 2006 when she returned to the Upstate. Currently, she is the Creative Services Coordinator at Erwin-Penland Advertising, and paints in her downtown studio space. In 2007, she joined the “painting-a-day” movement, creating a new painting every weekday. These pieces can be seen on her daily blog, EmilyClarke.blogspot.com.

Ms. Clarke’s style may be described as impressionistic, and though her subjects range from portraits and landscapes, to discarded bits of trash, and of course dancing. Her main goal as an artist is to capture even a small portion of the wonder that surrounds us at all times, but is often overlooked in our day-to-day lives.