| Clifford Bailey |
Clifford Bailey paints street scenes, people, Jazz and Jazz Clubs. His portraits and characters are in demand nationallly. Clifford Bailey lived and painted in Atlanta in the early 90's, exhibiting works at many community-level initiatives , including events held at the Nexxus Center (now the Contemporary Art Center), and the Tula Arts Center. The renowned Georgian Terrace Hotel (across the street from The Fox Theater) features a Clifford Bailey portrait of the hotel in its early days, hanging prominently in the hotel lobby.
Clifford BAILEY was born in Miami, Florida in 1969. He began painting and drawing at an early age and his innate talent was recognized, nurtured, and encouraged. He was clearly gifted. Studying and refining his craft throughout his formal education, he was thoroughly prepared to enter the prestigious New York School of Visual Arts (SVA) in 1987 where he began his college education. Upon graduation in 1991 Clifford BAILEY returned to Miami and began his career as a professional artist. Painting live, and exhibiting his work at various venues not normally associated with the “art worldâ€Â, like nightclubs, restaurants, social events, and various social galas, Clifford BAILEY successfully launched his career and quickly became a local sensation attracting a wide and adoring audience including serious collectors. Still, he eschewed the clamoring art dealers and galleries and continued to promote and market his art independently.
Buoyed by his initial success and his ever growing audience, Clifford BAILEY moved to Atlanta in 1998 to expand his horizons in a different arena, again meeting with overwhelming demand and praise for his uniquely original artwork. Enamored with the flavor of the South, Clifford BAILEY moved again to Nashville in a conscious effort to absorb the ambience of that famous city and to let it's music and musicians influence his artwork. This too proved and invaluable experience and one that continues to resonate in his current work. Bluegrass, Folk, Country, and Rock and Roll are all close to the artist's heart. But Jazz is, and always was, his muse and his inspiration. American and European jazz from the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. All brands, and all of it. His next move was to Los Angeles in 2001 to immerse himself in the LA jazz scene and it is in Los Angeles where he continues to live and work today. Still a young man, and already famous, in many ways Clifford BAILEY is just beginning what can only be described as an authentic and remarkable life and career as a fine artist.
Clifford BAILEY's highly individualized style of painting is often described as vibrant, exciting, and sophisticated. The artist captures the very energy and essence of Jazz and Jazz clubs as he puts his unique understanding of music into his uplifting and compelling compositions. The viewer is instantly swept up into the days of the Roaring 20's as well as the undeniable opulence and refinement of the 30's and 40's.
The stylized characters in Clifford BAILEY's work entertain the viewer through the artist's effective use of subtle and harmonious color and detail. One can sense the art of Clifford BAILEY's simplified, yet potent, brush strokes as he orchestrates his vignettes of swinging bands, sultry torch- singers, too-hip crooners, and even sophisticated symphonies.
JAZZ, in essence, developed as a musical style exploring and experimenting with vibrant and boldly improvisational use of instruments in an almost rebellious fashion. Clifford BAILEY has adapted this witches-brew formula for creativity to his unique brand of painting. As he says himself, Music has always inspired me. When I see the faces of people under the spell of music, I have an urge to capture their expressions on canvas. There is an emotional intensity I find fascinating. And then there is the rhythm of painting itself, the way the brush slaps and strokes the canvas, the color combinations and shapes of compositions and form; it's all music to me. -Clifford Bailey
Given his already robust following and the consistent demand for his paintings, the future seems bright for Clifford BAILEY and his artwork. And as such a popular and successful artist at this pivotal dawn of the 21st century, it is likely that Clifford BAILEY's art future may very well become art history.
"Clifford Bailey's work is playful, intense, funny, twisted, easy to look at and hard to forget. His signature style is original and unique. When it comes to music painting, he has that rare ability to capture players and music in a way that can only spring from the soul of someone as passionate about music as his subjects. For me, his work is about feeling; it's a hysterical celebration of life and a subtle examination of human behavior, thought and action. It would be hard to look at a Clifford Bailey painting and not react to it. If great art is about communication, Clifford Bailey is, truly, a fantastic artist."
-Howard Fishman (Howard Fishman Quartet)
"I lived in Brooklyn and in my neighborhood these Italian guys would gather around a garbage can on fire, and they would sing and play instruments -- rock 'n' roll and doo-wop and stuff like that ... I did this painting of these guys, and their faces were clear and funny, quirky yet painterly. That style caught on for me.”-Clifford Bailey
After stints in Miami and Atlanta, Clifford moved to Los Angeles in 2001. He has always loved coming to Nashville; the city’s inspiration shows from time to time in his portrayals of performers that could have played on the same bill with Bob Wills or Hank Williams, Jr.
Of his style and influences, Bailey says, "I think there's a little bit of a showman in me that has some flamboyance. My influences? Schiele, Klimt, Toulouse Lautrec, Modigliani and then Mad magazine and Walt Disney mixed in. The list goes on and on. Even abstract artists like Franz Kline. He especially had a big effect on me with his use of black. And those early Japanese prints of warriors with grimacing faces -- that bass player I paint so often with that smile is my samurai warrior."
Commissioned originals by Clifford Bailey can be found in the private collections of luminaries such as President Bill Clinton, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Dave Barry, and many accomplished musicians such as The Rolling Stones, The Howard Fishman Quartet, Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) and Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers).
Clifford Bailey original works and giclees on canvas are available exclusively in Santa Fe, New Mexico at POP Gallery. Contact us directly to add work by this significant artist to your collection. |
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