Clarence Porter
Master Pastel Artist of Canada (MPAC) Signature Designation, Pastel Artists Canada, 2014 Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA), 2016. International Association of Pastel Societies.
Clarence calls his art “playing” and his creations flow from his toy box full of pastel colours for the viewer’s enjoyment. His belief is that his art must be both objective and subjective: objective in its original intent and execution and subjective in its interaction with the viewer. “I hope that my art gives the viewer pause to reflect on a moment in time that I cherished, frozen in pastel pigments”.
While his focus now is on painting with pastels, he began his career as an advertising agency art director, after which he spent many years in Toronto as a freelance commercial illustrator working in a broad range of media. After relocating to Hamilton, Clarence started working with pastels for his own enjoyment. In 2006 Clarence was juried into the 15th Annual Purely Pastels Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Hamilton where he received an Honourable Mention. That was the spark he needed and since then he hasn’t looked back. Clarence’s pastels have been showcased in four solo shows and juried into multiple group exhibitions where he has won honours. His work is collected locally and internationally. He received his Master Pastel Artist of Canada (MPAC) signature designation from Pastel Artists Canada in 2014 and was elected a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) in 2016. He is also a member of the International Association of Pastel Societies.
Ongoing sources of inspiration for Clarence are the courses and workshops in soft pastels he teaches for adults. He is an instructor at the Dundas Valley School of Art as well as an occasional instructor at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Aurora Cultural Centre among others. Clarence is a part-time instructor at Sheridan College in the Visual and Creative Arts Department, teaching figurative painting, where he enjoys the interaction with young creative minds. He also finds his collaboration with other artists using different media rewarding and enriching.
BACKGROUND & TRAINING
- 3-Day Workshop: Lana Ballot, 2019
- 3-Day Workshop: Jessica Masters, 2018
- Community Artist-Educator Training Programme, Art Gallery of Hamilton, 2009
- John Herron School of Art and Design, Indianapolis, IN, 1966 –1967
GRANTS AND AWARDS
- 2016 Honorable Mention, Purely Pastels 25th Annual Open Juried Exhibition “No. 3a &3b (vancouVIEWS)”
- 2015 Honorable Mention, Purely Pastels 3rd Online Members Juried Exhibition, “Little Kennisis (Sunsets & Shadow Things)” Honorable Mention, NEXT!, The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, “Sunset Under the Skyway (Sunsets & Shadow Things)”
- 2014 Ursula Reese Grand Prize, Purely Pastels 23rd Annual Open Juried Exhibition 2014, “Pipes are Playing (steelVIEW)” Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Exhibition Assistance Grant, “vancouVIEW” series Honorable Mention, Pastel Journal (USA), 15th Annual Pastel 100 Competition, “Steel (steelVIEW)”
- 2013 Honorable Mention, Purely Pastels 22nd Annual Open Juried Exhibition 2013, “Burlington St. East (steelVIEW)”
- 2011 Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Exhibition Assistance Grant, “Ottawa Street North” series
- 2006 Honorable Mention, Purely Pastels 15th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, “Tim”
EXHIBITIONS & SHOWS:
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2015 Sunsets and Shadow Things, The Nathaniel Hughson Art Gallery, Hamilton
- 2014 A Selection, Hamilton Public Library Central Branch, Hamilton
- 2013 vancouVIEWS, The Nathaniel Hughson Gallery, Hamilton
- 2012 SteelVIEW, De Facto at Mulberry, Hamilton
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2019 PIGMENTS, Earls Court Gallery, Hamilton
- 2018 PSA 46th Annual: “Enduring Brilliance!”, Pastel Society of America, National Arts Club Grand Gallery, New York, NY Square Foot Show 2018, Julia Veenstra Studios
- 2017 “I Frequently Go There…”, Earls Court Gallery, Hamilton Purely Pastels 5th Online Members Juried Exhibition, Pastel Artists Canada BIHAMINTO – The Co-Show, Stockyards Gallery, Toronto Pastel Society of North Carolina’s Pure Color 2017 Online Exhibition 7th Annual PleinAir Salon June/July Online Exhibition Society of Canadian Artists 2017 Open International Juried Online Exhibition Out of the Back Door Group Exhibition, Earls Court Gallery
- 2016 Purely Pastels 4th Online Members Juried Exhibition, Pastel Artists Canada The Secret Cache Group Exhibition, Earls Court Gallery Square Foot Show 2016, Julia Veenstra Studios Purely Pastels 25th Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Pastel Artists Canada, Aurora Cultural Centre, Aurora
- 2015 Purely Pastels 3rd Online Members Juried Exhibition, Pastel Artists Canada NEXT!, The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, Toronto Happy Holidays, The Nathaniel Hughson Art Gallery, Hamilton
- 2014 Purely Pastels 2nd Online Members Juried Exhibition, Pastel Artists Canada Purely Pastels 23rd Annual Open Juried Exhibition 2014, Pastel Artists Canada, Beaux-Arts Brampton, Brampton Purely Pastels 1st Online Members Juried Exhibition, Pastel Artists Canada Hamilton, The Nathaniel Hughson Gallery, Hamilton
- 2013 Purely Pastels 22nd Annual Open Juried Exhibition, Pastel Artists Canada, Milton Centre for the Arts, Milton Art Walk Exhibited (outdoor banner installations), King William Art Walk, Hamilton Pairings, The Nathaniel Hughson Gallery, Hamilton
- 2012 End of Year Group Show, The Nathaniel Hughson Gallery, Hamilton An Introduction, Earls Court Gallery, Hamilton Just Art, Canadian Centre for Social Innovation (Annex), Toronto
- 2010/11 Ottawa Street North, Art Sales + Rental, The Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton
