Gaining notoriety as an exceptional Thoroughbred artist, Robert has been invited to paint live at many high profile Thoroughbred events such as the Eclipse Awards, The White Horse Awards at the Breeders’ Cup, Turf Writer Awards, the FTBOA Awards, the Race for Grace, and the Call to Post, Keeneland, Fasig Tipton and Ocala Breeder Sales. Gulfstream Park has a collection of over 30 pieces of his work in the Club House. Robert’s painting of the Saratoga 150th Celebration horse on is on permanent display at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. A natural talent as a youth, Robert held his first one-man show at age 19. During his academic years, Robert earned scholarships, was juried into many shows, and won numerous awards. Robert’s focus has always been as a painter and his education focused on course work to develop his skills in that area: drawing, pastels, watercolors, painting in all mediums and even sculpture… but it was always about being a better painter.
Robert Clark’s interest first began with Arabian horses, learning their conformation from veterinary textbooks, and then studying how other artists painted the horse over the centuries. Robert’s earliest equestrian influences were Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix. As his interest moved into Thoroughbred racing, he studied the work of Richard Stone Reeves and Franklin Voss. Robert also worked directly with portrait artist Jon Houghton and sports artist Ron Stark; their sharing of techniques helped polish the style that is represented in Robert’s paintings to this day.
After a successful ten-year career as a stockbroker in Florida, Robert opened his own gallery, Dragon Point Gallery, and then created, produced, and hosted, “FOCUS”, a television show on the arts that still airs in Florida after more than twenty years. He has served as a museum board member and as the president of the Artist Forum in an advisory role to the Chamber of Commerce. During this period, Robert’s daily routine was to paint a watercolor of the sunrise over the ocean. He did this every day for eight years to keep his hands in the paint!
Owning his own gallery and being an arts media developer for nearly twenty years, Robert made a conscious effort to move away from political responsibilities, commercial positions, gallery shows, and contests within the arts to focus on the creation of his own art. This allowed him to concentrate on his favorite life-long subject matter.
Robert chose to work directly with horse owners, many of whom have owned some of the top race horses in the world. “My willingness to emerge back into the public’s eye is a result of my recent move from Florida to Kentucky and meeting John Hockensmith. I have tremendous respect for John Hockensmith as a gallery owner and as a professional artist / photographer in this current age of technology. I appreciate the absolute professionalism and attention to detail in every aspect of the Hockensmith Gallery as a high quality fine art venue.”
Hockensmith Fine Art Editions produces high end production prints of this fine collection of equine artistry using special inks, papers, and methods that respect Robert Clark’s use of traditional oil paint and the horses that inspire his art.
