The Sporting Art of C. D. Clarke

Hardcover, 214 Pages.
Release Date: 10/3/2023
10 x 12.5 inches

C. D. Clarke says he was born to paint and fish and hunt, and he’s done just that over his lifetime, capturing memorable times on the water and in the field on canvas and finessing that passion and pastime into a laudable career, inspired by the work of wildlife artists Ogden Pleissner, Chet Reneson, Thomas Aquinas Daly, and John Swan This magnificent book of his work features nearly 200 paintings, tableaux of color, light, motion, and possibility, created over the course of forty years fishing and hunting in the world’s most coveted destinations. Clarke prefers to work “en plein air” where he paints studies and fills sketchbooks with scenes that inspire the oils and watercolors he later refines in his New Jersey Highlands studio. Clarke’s work is exhibited at the most prestigious wildlife art shows and festivals and is regularly featured in top wildlife and sporting publications.

Artist's Statement
I have always had two strong interests: art, and the outdoors. I started out in a program that would have put me into the Forestry School at Syracuse University. After one semester, I realized that forestry was Chemistry and Math, so I turned to Art.

I did nothing for three years but paint. It didn’t matter how many paintings turned out; I just did them. I learned everything I could about landscape painting. That’s where I learned to enjoy the process of watercolor. I got a lot out of Syracuse University, but none of the knowledge that I use as a landscape painter came from there, other than basic drawing skills.

All of my knowledge of light and how things are recorded and responded to came from years of working outdoors, on location. That’s the most important thing an artist can do. What an artist learns about light and color in the field is indispensable.

I am commissioned by hunters and anglers who collect sporting art to capture their favorite locations in watercolor and oil. Each year, I take four to six major trips to sporting destinations all over the world. Many of my paintings are created right on the spot, standing on a rocky beach, in a windy marsh, or on a sparkling flat.

I also record the people and equipment on film, so that I can add them to my paintings when I am back in the studio. Working in this manner, I end up with an accurate depiction of the sporting scene. The boats, planes, dogs, rods, and guns, as well as the anglers and hunters, themselves, are all correct. Additionally, the light, colors, and feel of the landscape are true to life. At other times, I use the sketches I made in the field along with my reference photos as the basis for a painting completed in my studio under more controlled conditions.