NAME: Karlos B. Clarke, father of two children and two grandchildren.
HOME: Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, London England and New York, USA.
INFLUENCES: My parents instilled strong values which focused on religion, respecting people, applying yourself to accomplish goals and maintaining family.
INTERESTS: Spending time with my children, grandchildren, family and good friends and listening to vocal music and piano jazz which stir the emotions.
There is a grace and elegance that resonates through his work, that has roots in his upbringing, because of the influence of his mother, aunt and grandmother.
In his years of painting, he has tried to show some joy and beauty in his style of painting. He sometimes uses lots of colors, some muted, some bright, in order to draw the attention of both the young and the not so young, to show depth, feelings and movement.
You will always hear music, jazz, being played in his studio, which prevents him, says he, from getting lost, mentally, in his work. Through conversations, he says that he has worked with famous artists, but surprisingly their work and his, has not always been valued or appreciated.
He told me about an experience which could have ended his interest in the arts. He was about four or five years old when his parents travelled back to Jamaica, from England, with his siblings. He remembered going to school and the first day homework assignment was: Do a pencil drawing, on paper, of one or two animals playing in a park or yard. He chose to draw a lion and a lamb. He said it was well done, considering his age, and he was very proud of his effort. He took it to school and showed it to his lovely teacher. She gave him a “D”, said he was lying, and that he had someone do the assignment for him. He got five strokes in both hands, with a leather strap and was told to stand at the back of the class until lunch break. Beating children with a strap or cane was the thing in Jamaica in those days. They went back to England not too long after that, but he could never understand why his parents kept going back to Jamaica.
That traumatic experience, in addition to determination, adventure, curiosity and the love of painting, has helped him to press on.
In the not-so-distant past, the art world concentrated, in his opinion, on abstract expressionism, but he said he wanted detail, form and movement in his paintings. It made him spend more time with his work which made it necessary for him to use pictures and sketches as references.
In our discussion, the subject of mentors came up. He said that mentors, at their best, are one of the relationships that brings out the best of your talent. He said he did not have the mentor relationship with other artists, but if the need to have a mentor is necessary, then be bold and ask for help and ideas, even if they cannot afford you many hours. Sometimes a short discussion can be oh so valuable.
