Keith Clark, May 2006

The Paintings of Keith Clark Collage by Kelvin T. Stansberry ArtsUnited Features Painter Keith Clark in May Exhibit ArtsUnited will feature the paintings of local artist Keith Clark in a solo exhibit at the Stonewall Library and Archives from May 1 through 31, 2006. The exhibit opens with a reception to meet the artist on Monday, May 1st from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Guests will also be treated to a special performance by CORN BRED, an acoustical experience of gay bluegrass by Rodd Bayston and John Hensley. The Stonewall Library and Archives is located at 1717 N. Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The reception is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served. Keith Clark was born in 1961 in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in the small artist community of Brown County, Indiana. Keith began drawing at an early age, and by high school was selling pen & ink sketches at local galleries. Clark left Indiana to study Architecture at the University of Cincinnati, where he received a Bachelor of Architecture in 1985 and continued to hone his drawing skills. He practiced architecture and design in Washington, DC for many years, but always desired to paint again. In 2004 Clark moved to Ft. Lauderdale intent on painting again. Here he discovered ArtsUnited's annual signature event ArtExplosion and joined the Board of Directors of ArtsUnited, which inspired him to pick up his paintbrush again. This show at the Stonewall Library and Archives will be his first solo show. Clark describes his work as experiments in texture and light. "I like my paintings to evoke emotion, not through the forms but through the texture of the paint, and contrast of light to dark. I like the paint to ooze with emotion, to drip and run, so you want to touch it." His landscapes are stripped of color, concentrating on the texture of the landscape and light in the sky. His abstracts literally drip down the canvas, contrasting light with dark. For more information about the artist, go to www.keithclarkgallery.com. For more information about ArtsUnited, call 954-530-2723 or go to www.artsunitedonline.org. Photos provided by Pompano Bill Collage by Kelvin T. Stansberry Opening Night Landscape painter creates old-world look Clark works on upcoming exhibit on Gay Pride history for Stonewall Library By PHIL LAPADULA Express Gay News, Saturday, May 13, 2006 Keith Clark creates landscape paintings that look like old photographs. Clark is also curating an exhibit on the history of South Florida gay pride events for the Stonewall Library. Keith Clark likes to look at the world in black and white, contrasts of light and dark tones. His background in architecture and his intense interests in history and black-and-white photography all influenced his exhibit of landscape paintings that are currently on display at the Stonewall Library & Archives in Fort Lauderdale. The paintings, some of which depict the marsh grasses of the Everglades and seedlings, mimic the olive-brown sepia tones of Old World photography. They reveal a distinctive style and look. "I’m most interested in texture and light," says Clark. "I’m experimenting with paint and trying to make it more luminous. I tried to create the feel of a black-and-white photo or sepia tones with paint. Color can distract from the other elements of a composition. When the color is stripped away, you have to focus on the light and texture." He says he created the painting from a combination of photographs and his imagination. Clark worked as an architect for 10 years in the Washington, D.C. area, designing residential and commercial interiors. While in Washington, he also served as president of One in Ten, the group that produces Reel Affirmations, D.C.’s annual gay and lesbian film festival. He also worked on One in Ten’s Museum Project, helping to create exhibits of gay and lesbian history. He helped to put together "Pride: Party or Protest?" a history of gay pride festivals that is currently on display in Washington until June 11. ‘Pride: Party or Protest?’ coming to Stonewall Clark currently volunteers as development director for Stonewall Library & Archives. His main mission is to raise money for the organization, but he also curates historical exhibits for the library. Currently, he is working on adapting the "Pride: Party or Protest?" show to tell the story of how South Florida’s gay pride festivals have developed and charged through the years. After receiving a $2,000 grant from the Broward County Cultural Council, the library has scheduled the pride historical exhibit for June 17 to July 31. Clark has been gathering T-shirts, buttons and photos from past Pride events. "We’ve been having trouble finding photos from the ’70s and ’80s," Clark says. Planning Bryant exhibit for library Clark also plans to work on an exhibit about the Anita Bryant era to mark the upcoming 30th anniversary of the repeal of the Dade County human rights ordinance in 1977. "It will include photos of the marches right after the repeal of the ordinance," Clark says. "I have a particular interest in gay history. I find it fascinating to take historical materials and tell a story in some kind of cohesive way." Clark has also served as vice president of the gay and lesbian art group, ArtsUnited, for the past year and a half. He helped organize the group’s main annual event, Art Explosion. Clark has been creating art since he was in high school. Back then, he sold some of his pen-and-ink sketches of woodland creatures. He grew up in a small artists’ colony in Brown County, Ind., surrounded by crafts, quilting and sculpture. Over the years, he has taken many black-and-white photos of landscapes, including a recent series of black-and-white photos of lava rocks in Hawaii. But after he started architecture school, he quit painting. When he moved to South Florida, one of his goals was to start painting again. "ArtsUnited really inspired me to pick up the paint brush and do it again," Clark says. Clark currently makes his living renovating old houses and selling them. He refurbishes the interiors and also landscapes the yards. Home renovation advice "I try to take a house back to its roots," he says. "I try to find the central character of the house, whether its Mediterranean, country or mid-century modern." Clark recently refurbished a house that was a hard sell because it had a septic tank in the front yard. "It had no curb appeal because there was this huge mound of dirt in the front yard covering the septic tank," Clark says. Clark re-landscaped the yard to create an English garden with waterfalls and a fishpond to cover the septic tank mound. Clark offered some advice to people who are planning to renovate their homes. "First, don’t bite off more than you can chew," he says. "Keep it simple." He noted that the decision-making process is different depending on whether an owner wants to sell a home or simply upgrade it to their tastes to live in it. "If you’re looking to sell, you should focus on the bathrooms and kitchens," Clark says. "Those are the two areas that sell the house and usually need updating the most." Whether its renovating houses or landscape painting, Clark says he prefers to look at things from a wide perspective, focusing on the big picture. As an architect, Clark says he employed "exaggerated perspectives" in his renderings of interior space "so that I could provide a wide view of what the place would actually look like." That approach now dominates his artwork. "I like to use a wide lens," he says.