Therapist, Poet, Writer, Artist

THIS PAST SUMMER the Buckley Center Gallery presented “Facing You,” a retrospective exhibit of artist Reed Clarke’s oil paintings.

Clarke graduated from UP in 1965 and took a roundabout path to his portrait work. While studying psychology at UP, he discovered writing and poetry, which led him to the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop for graduate school. While he was there, he also studied painting. Aware, as he says, that “an MFA and a dollar would buy you a cup of coffee,” he pursued a PhD in counseling and psychology, specializing in addiction treatment.

“I’ve always been interested in people, whether you use the term ‘therapy’ or ‘art’,” Clarke says.

After teaching and administering a study abroad program at Oregon Episcopal School, he became a counselor in a community mental health program. He worked for many years for Providence Health Services.

In 2004, Clarke devoted himself full-time to painting. Inspired by Renaissance painting and Rembrandt, Clarke is drawn to human form and expression. Sometimes his portraits are timeless; sometimes they are inspired by the world around him.

Even at seventy-five, he shows no signs of slowing down. He quotes Michelangelo when describing his current artistic practice: “still, I am learning.”

Amanda Waldroupe is a journalist and writer based in Portland.