Mission San Juan Capistrano to Host Fourth Exhibition by Timothy J. Clark

Mission San Juan Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, CA

714-248-2032

http://www.missionsjc.com

Mission San Juan Capistrano to Host Fourth Exhibition by Timothy J. Clark

Timothy J. Clark

February 29-April 9, 2000

Mission San Juan Capistrano will host an exhibition of watercolor and oil paintings of Mission San Juan Capistrano and other California missions by internationally acclaimed artist Timothy J. Clark, February 29 -April 9, 2000. Also included in the 20-piece exhibition will be images from Granada, Spain, which Clark terms "the roots of Mission San Juan Capistrano."

The artist has painted the Capistrano Mission for over 20 years, and is also known for his portraits, interior studies and landscapes of romantic scenes from locations throughout the world. A Capistrano Beach resident, he is widely known for his PBS-TV series Focus on Watercolor (he is the author of a companion book by the same name) and for more than a decade has taught painting seminars. Clark returns to the Mission for his fourth show; in 1996, his exhibition of 34 paintings sold out, actually resulting in the sale of 36 paintings as visitors requested he paint additional works. (left: San Juan Capistrano, Serra Chapel, oil)

"We're pleased to have Timothy J. Clark coming back for a fourth exhibition," remarked Jerry Miller, Administrator of the Mission. "He is a local artist whose reputation is international. His exhibition at the Mission is a major project by one of the country's best known and most capable artists. It reflects not only his vision, but the beauty of the old Mission he came to love."

Growing up in colorful, sunny Southern California, Clark tuned his perception of color to see much more than the untrained eye. He was educated at all four of the major Los Angeles art schools--Chouinard, Art Center, Otis and the California Institute for the Arts--which helped him develop the skill to match his vision. Today, not only is his art in demand, but he is a popular lecturer at museums and art schools across the country, including the Worcester Art Museum near Boston and the famous Art Students League of New York on West 57th Street in Manhattan. In 1998, his painting "Chapel Glow" was exhibited at the National Academy Museum on 5th Avenue in New York as part of a national juried show, one of the country's most elite. Additionally, an award-winning Clark painting will be featured in the National Academy 2000 Show in New York City February 9 - March 26, and in September his work will be included in the prestigious Art in America Show in Denver, sponsored by the Denver Rotary Club. (left: Mission Carmel, watercolor; right: Mission Santa Barbara at Sunset, watercolor)

Clark has studios in Capistrano Beach and Maine, but does much of his work on location. While he prefers the privacy and protected environment of his studio, Clark has learned to concentrate while tourists peer over his shoulder and at the whim of sun, rain and clouds. He notes, "I really think the last few years the Mission has been my studio. There's no place where architecture, texture, color and light blend so dramatically." (right: Parador Courtyard Sunshine, watercolor)

Of his colorful, unique style, Clark comments, "My art says that we are still here and the world doesn't look so bad after all." He says that at first glance his work looks conservative, but with further study the viewer will discover the color, composition and drawing can only be late 20th century, "a spirited realism with a positive vision born of its Southern California roots."

Renowned artist Millard Sheets once said of Clark: "Every time I see one of his works, I am immediately attracted, not only by his great ability as a draftsman and designer, but by the personal qualities of expression and insight he possesses."

Clark is presenting a concurrent show at the Parker Ranch Art Museum on the Big Island of Hawaii, Twenty Years of Painting the Big Island, April 8 - June 17, 2000

3/1/00 Revision Note: Subsequent to this article being first published Clark was honored at the National Academy Museum's 175th juried exhibition for his painting, "The Maine Woodworking Shop of Raymond C. Small." Clark received the William A. Paton Award for a watercolor by an American-born artist from the Museum's President, Raoul Middleman, at the Show's opening in New York City on February 9, 2000. "Artists from Winslow Homer to Jasper Johns have all shown their work at the National Academy. It's a privilege for me to receive the Paton Award," commented Clark.

Internationally-known artist Will Barnet, who received a lifetime achievement award from the Academy this year, said of Clark's prize-winning painting, "Objects of various sizes and shapes are organized into a cohesive painting unified by a mystical light."

Now in its 175th continuous year, the National Academy's juried exhibition is the nation's oldest, most exclusive and prestigious event of its kind. Clark's painting of his late father-in-law's woodworking shop in Maine is one of 190 works in this year's show chosen from more than 2000 entries by artists from across the country. The National Academy Museum is located at 1083 Fifth Avenue between the Guggenheim and Cooper Hewitt museums.

Editor's note:

Click on above images to enlarge them.

Also see Resource Library's Timothy J. Clark: California Missions (2/12/99)

For further biographical information on Millard Sheets, please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.

Read more articles and essays concerning this source by visiting the sub-index page for Mission San Juan Capistrano in Resource Library.

rev. 4/18/11

This page was originally published in 2000 in Resource Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for more information.

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