The painting, full of rough waters and constant movement, signifies an uncertain but adventurous future. It may have no title, but the scene — waves rolling into a cove with the sun on the horizon — is a reflection of where AMSA art teacher Darcy Cloutman is in her career, and it was one of 10 paintings that she recently put on display at the Hanover Theater in Worcester.
Ms. Cloutman’s works express a sense of serenity and the wonder of nature, and she is lucky enough to find her inspirations first hand.
She inhabits the world of her paintings before inspiration strikes, including traveling to Europe as much as she can. Still, she finds beauty in her ventures around New England.
“If I travel someplace, I’ll see something and pull over to the side of the road to take a picture of it,” she said with a laugh.
Those pictures become paintings and make up a large part of her collection. Some were a part of an exhibition featuring other artists at the ArtsWorcester gallery last autumn. The timing was perfect.
Across the street, executives at Hanover Theater were on the hunt for local artwork to put in their upstairs lounge. They didn’t have to go far to get a suggestion from Alice Dillon, an associate director of ArtsWorcester, who told the folks at the Hanover Theater that Ms. Cloutman’s work was just what they needed.
“They thought it would be a good fit for the corporate program that they have,” Ms. Cloutman said.
It was more validation after a successful summer that saw her sell five paintings to the Aurora Apartments on Main Street in Worcester.
Her paintings at Hanover Theater were on display from last August to the end of January, great exposure for a local artist.
The next opportunity? She’s always on the lookout.
“The more big-name places that have shown my work, the better [my resume] looks, and the more likely a gallery will be interested,” Ms. Cloutman said.
Always passionate about art, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in painting from the University of Connecticut in 1995. Those kinds of degrees don’t always go over well with family, but Ms. Cloutman has never wanted for support.
In fact, if it weren’t for her family’s steady support, she would have thought twice about making art the center of her life. It began with her mother noticing constant drawing and doodling, and she encouraged Ms. Cloutman to be the best artist that she could possibly be.
As she finished high school, Ms. Cloutman felt lost and unsure how to make college a worthwhile effort, so she stuck to what made her happiest: art. It can be a difficult major in terms of a post-education job market, so her dad — a former schoolteacher — helped nudge her in the right direction and suggested art education.
Being a teacher helps her gain perspective on her own works, and it gives her greater understanding of how art is evolving with new generations.
Before landing a teaching job, Ms. Cloutman was eager to get involved in the art scene immediately after college, so she decided to work in a framing shop. Not long after, she found herself going to galleries and selling her art in Hartford, Conn.
After gaining a few years of teaching experience she made the decision to come to AMSA in 2014, embracing the challenge of growing an arts program in a STEM-focused school.
“I was very excited and nervous,” she said. “I wasn’t quite sure what teaching art would be like at a math and science school, but it turned out to be pretty awesome.”
Her work, which sometimes begins as a photograph and an idea, is a reminder of the artistic journey that has defined her life.
Every wave on the horizon is both an obstacle and an opportunity to grow as a person and an artist.
