Painting Plein Air With Artist C.D. Clarke

The National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) is partnering with the Land Trust of Virginia to hold an exclusive outdoor painting workshop with renowned artist C.D. Clarke.

 Up to 14 participants will paint alongside Clarke, an international sportsman and artist, at Forest Mills Farm near Leesburg on April 16.

Clarke travels the world in search of artistic inspiration and sporting adventure.  His work was featured in a 2014 solo exhibition at NSLM, and now he returns to Middleburg to share his painting advice and plein air tips with the public.

While fly fishing or wing shooting, Clarke is often armed with a paint box as well and the accoutrements are interchangeable. If a composition presents itself, he produces a field study, in either watercolor or oil, on the spot.

His works, sometimes commissioned and other times inspired, are grounded in experience and mark the impression of a particular time and place. His 30-year sporting art career began in 1986 when his submission, a still-life in watercolor of a black ducktitled “The Limit for Now,” was selected for publication in Gray’s Sporting Journal.

Since then, Clarke’s work has been chosen for illustration in that noted field sport magazine several times a year, including assignments to accompany sporting writers Terry Wieland and James Babb to paint scenes for their articles.  Clarke’s work was chosen for a 2014 solo exhibition at NSLM entitled “A Sportsman en plein air: C.D. Clarke.”

He and class participants will work at Forest Mills Farm, which sits along and up the hill from the Crooked Run, a tributary of Goose Creek.

 The cornerstone of the spring house on the farm is dated 1787 and is one of the oldest structures near Lincoln, a town settled by Quakers in the early 18th century. The workshop will take place by the log cabin, on the banks of the creek. This cabin, the oldest structure on the farm, was built by the Janney family when the original grist and sawmill was constructed circa 1740.

Current owner Bettina Gregory, who purchased the property in 1985, donated the conservation easement to the Land Trust of Virginia in 2013.

The National Sporting Library & Museum is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Founded in 1954, the renowned research library and fine art museum highlight the rich heritage and tradition of country pursuits.

Angling, horsemanship, shooting, steeplechasing, foxhunting, flat racing, polo, coaching and wildlife are among the subjects available in the organization’s general stacks, rare book holdings, archives and art collection. The NSLM also offers a wide variety of educational programs, exhibitions, and family activities throughout the year, and is open to researchers and the general public.

Painting en plein air with C.D. Clarke will take place April 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $80 for NSLM members and $100 for the public and registration for the program is now open. To register, contact Anne Marie Barnes, the NSLM Educational Programs Manager & Fellowship Advisor, at ABarnes@NationalSporting.org.

The Land Trust of Virginia partners with private landowners who wish to voluntarily protect and preserve their working farmland or natural lands with significant scenic, historic, and ecological value for the benefit of the community using conservation easements.

Founded nearly a quarter century ago, the Land Trust of Virginia is a thriving 501c3 non-profit organization that relies upon the generous support of the community and landowners to fulfill its mission.  LTV is a trusted conservation partner, recognized and accredited by the Land Trust Alliance as a land trust that meets “national standards for protecting natural places and working lands forever.” For more information visit www.LandTrustVA.org.

Admission to the museum is free to NSLM members and $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and older, $8 for youngsters (13–18), with children 12 and under free. The Museum is free on Wednesdays and on the last Sunday of each month. 

NSLM is closed on federal holidays. And in the case of inclement weather, NSLM follows Loudoun County school district decisions.