PAINTING IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS in Alaska, Norway and Greenland during the past few years has made me especially aware of climate change. A web page featuring a virtual installation of many of these paintings is available on the internet, under the heading “In Search of Ice”. The subject is a topical one these days, with many personal ramifications for me, but it is my expectation that the images will speak for themselves on their own terms. 

My paintings are perceptually based. I work in oil in a painterly style, with attention to topographic features. I usually begin by jotting down something that’s caught my attention in a small sketchbook. The subject is often too big to be caught within the rectangle and the next sketches are often pieced together in a way that maintains the rhythm of what I have seen. The paintings, done in oil, are always representational, but with a moving focus, as eye and mind linger on some elements and pass lightly over others. I like to work on a variety of surfaces and formats and usually carry linen, Denril and small pieces of aluminum cut in varying sizes and shapes. These form the basis for my larger paintings, often done on sheets of frosted Mylar, which is similar to the Denril but heavier.

—Marcia Clark, 2018