As a scientist and science teacher, Vineyard native Marston Clough spent a lifetime following facts, formulas, proofs, and equations. It wasn’t until he retired and moved back to the Island that Clough switched from left-brain to right-brain pursuits.
In 2003 Clough and his wife Louise relocated full-time to the Vineyard from the small town of Hudson, where he had taught high school science for 34 years. Having the time to do as he pleased, the born-and-bred Islander took up painting with a newfound zeal. “It’s so non-science,” says Clough. “You don’t have to exactly follow the rules.”
Since embarking on his second career, the artist has proven to be very prolific. He works in his home studio just about every day — favoring the morning hours — before heading out to fish or sail (at least during the summer months). “I like to start my day in the studio,” he says.
Clough spent some time in his early career in bacteria research with the Boston University Medical Center, and his love of experimentation has extended to his pursuit of art. “I’m not patient with one style,” says the artist. “I like vague and I like bold.”
Examples of both styles will be on exhibit at the Art Gallery in Oak Bluffs during Clough’s time as the gallery’s featured artist.
Clough is perhaps best known for his soft, impressionistic landscapes. Many examples of those will be on offer at the gallery — moody little paintings of Island scenes, often captured under overcast or cloudy skies. The artist draws from his imagination, which is well steeped in the Vineyard landscape. Although each scene will no doubt seem familiar to the viewer, they are not based on any actual location. For example, a painting titled “Turner’s Island” is so named for the artist’s admiration of the work of J.M.W. Turner.
There’s a lot of texture to Clough’s work. He incorporates the rough surface of the canvas and sometimes leaves excess paint to add a three-dimensional effect. It’s in the combinations of muted colors that Clough’s impressionistic work gains its evocative quality. He’s an expert at placing just the right touch of pink or lavender in a foggy sky, or finding the right shade of green to capture the murky quality of the sea under a darkened sky.
More recently, the artist has been experimenting in a more expressionistic style. He uses bold, sometimes surprising color combinations, to depict boats and other objects against vivid backdrops. Clough’s solo exhibit will also include a couple of abstract paintings. There’s even an example of Clough’s recent foray into sculpture. A couple of years ago, the artist set out to create a papier-mâché chicken, but decided he liked the figure best as a chicken wire frame, and he constructed a few more of the whimsical creatures.
The Art Gallery exhibit spotlights an artist who continues to reinvent himself stylistically.
Clough tends to keep his prices low, often painting on panels or self-contained canvases, or constructing his own frames. The paintings currently on display range from $400 to $700.
Like all of the artist members of the Art Gallery cooperative, Clough has a regular shift manning the desk. He uses the downtime to sketch or paint, and enjoys the opportunity to meet visitors. “One thing painting has done for me is it’s connected me to people on the Vineyard that I hadn’t known before,” he says. “It’s made me a lot of new friends.”
An exhibit of Marston Clough’s work will hang at the Art Gallery at 99 Dukes County Ave., Oak Bluffs, through August 28. There will be an artist’s reception on Friday, August 23, from 5 to 7 pm.