Debra Claffey

Debra Claffey is a visual artist who uses encaustic, oil, and mixed media in her work. She holds a BFA in Painting from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Tufts University and an Associate's Degree in Horticultural Technology from the University of New Hampshire. In both 2011 and 2020, she received an Artist Entrepreneurial Grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Claffey’s work has won several awards, including the Second Place Award at the Monotype Guild of New England’s Fifth National Monotype Exhibition in May 2018 and the Juror’s Award at the Anything But Flat Exhibition at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill. Claffey is a Past-President of New England Wax, and Past President of the NH Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art.

Website: www.debraclaffey.com

Classes with Debra Claffey

Conceal/Reveal—Using Hand-printed Monotypes in Encaustic Painting

Deepen the emotional connection in your work by using both simplicity and complexity in constructing your compositions. I will show you how to free up your expression by making hand-printed monotypes, either with oil or R&F Pigment Sticks, water-based media, or encaustic, in one session. In the following session, I’ll show you how I layer the monotypes--flat, bubble-free, wrinkle-free, with the thinnest layer of wax possible. Then we’ll work with the layers—subtracting by cutting away areas, adding by using PanPastel, pigment stick, or by manipulating textures—to create a complex and revealing surface.