Arnold David Clapman  

The 90's

 

 Compared to the somber sunlight of Manhattan, Boston and Baltimore, the brightness of the California sunshine was dazzling to the newly arrived Arnold. Colors were magical and intense imbuing all the surroundings with a mythic aura of fantasy. Arnold once again began filling canvases with expressionistic images consisting of acrylic underpaintings and embellishments  of glistening oil paints. The subjects that initially attracted him in the  beach resort town of Santa Cruz were the vast skies filled with massive clouds, sun-drenched beaches, rock formations, eucalyptus groves, pounding surf, lush foothills, towering redwoods and other natural wonders.

 

The final 3rd round  financing for the NY film project failed to materialize and it seemed pointless to return to New York City.  It was time to let go of entrepreneurial pursuits that may or may not have gone further,  and live in the paradise that was Santa Cruz. Arnold began teaching art classes at the adult education center then later taught a very well recieved comic book art and illustration course at the Monterey Peninsula College.  In 1991 Arnold joined AA and NA, had a spiritual awakening and, for the first time in his life, successfully achieved sobriety from drug and alcohol addiction. To this day he remains a member of the recovery fellowship.

 

After a few years Arnold was made aware of the Native American cultural history of the area, in particular, the former presence of a tribe of Ohlone indians that were virtually intermarried out of existence during the great Gold Rush. A summer spent with a visiting Shamen and learning the art of Dreamwalking inspired Arnold to create a series of native American scenes in acrylics. He began to haunt the antique shops in the Old Town section of Los Gatos finding numerous old tintypes of tribesmen of the old West. Many of these were rendered as expressionistic lithographs as well.

 

Arnold bought a set of exquisite  Mambiza Conga drums hand-made in San Francisco and enjoyed jamming with them along the cliffs of Santa Cruz. This attracted local Mexicans and the Rastafari who gleefully joined him and so they too became subjects for his paintings. Subsequently the need to augment his income led Arnold to become an art teacher and counselor to at-risk youth in drug, alcohol and gang diversion programs. As a result, the painting gave way, for the remainder of the 90's, to cartooning, comic book art and the graffiti he used to gain the trust of and get through to the street-wise adolescents he was hired to instruct and counsel,