"The theatrical arc light of late afternoon was shining brilliantly on that white cottonwood tree. I think that is the moment when we decided to make the move." By the late 1960s, Clark Hulings was successfully pursuing the easel painting … [Read more...]
Balancing Act
"Their work is ongoing, with no time to stop and visit." Even when we're no longer students, the beginning of September is a time when we all seem to re-focus, buckle down, and get to work. There's so much to be done. This 1972 painting … [Read more...]
Auction Alert: Jose on Maria-Spain
"The really Spanish touch is the stunning red accent in the saddle blanket that anchors the composition, not to mention showing-off the proficiency of the local textile-makers. " Is there anything more classic than a Hulings donkey—or in … [Read more...]
Auction Alert: Puerto Vallarta
"Night of the Iguana was filmed in Puerto Vallarta in 1963, marking the beginning of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's love affair." Puerto Vallarta is a spectacular Hulings landscape painted in 1976. Mention of this Mexican beach … [Read more...]
Russian Influence
"In my mind there seemed to be a kinship between makers of Russian theatrical masks and makers of Hopi Kachina dolls.” One hallmark of Hulings’ compositions is the seamless weaving together of elements from different places and … [Read more...]
Ambitious Plans
"She is either stuck or plotting a spectacular descent, or a bit of both..." Cats are quirky at the best of times, and kittens are non-stop action and exploration, as this study shows. Hulings painted Three Kittens and a Grapevine in 1985, … [Read more...]
The Right to Relax
"2011's Spanish Lunch Break is a late-career piece for Hulings, and study of a well-earned moment of rest." We get so few actual holidays where we're not multitasking, so we hope you're taking some time to put your feet up over the Fourth … [Read more...]
Somewhere That’s Green
"The red accents are dotting the foreground as flowers, and Hulings fan-club members will also spot the signature piece of small red laundry hanging on the line toward the upper right." In our first official week of summer, we thought it … [Read more...]
Suspicious Spirals
"A newly-married couple is drafted to help the British Secret Service foil a Nazi plot to develop a deadly sea-mine weapon." There's so much to love about this Hulings cover from 1962. If you're an Alfred Hitchcock fan, you'll see a … [Read more...]
Chubby in the 1970s
“Don't blame me if it rains.” ― Eeyore the Donkey, A.A. Milne It's been raining on and off all week in New York City, and at the end of the day, it gets a little tiring. There's a whole part of daily life that just refuses to be … [Read more...]
Chocolates y Caramelos
"I was particularly struck by the beauty of the special diffused light: it was almost churchlike." It seems about time for a European getaway! Today we're in Valencia, Spain, in the middle of a bustling day in one of the largest markets in … [Read more...]
Sale Alert: Taxco Horseman
"Hulings loved to paint laundry in general, and Mexican laundry in particular, and this is a show-stopping example." Even with such a consistently strong body of work, Hulings has a few real standouts, where his classic subject matter is … [Read more...]
Come Here Often?
"The long landscape orientation makes it seem like a "slice" and is reminiscent of the letterbox layout of a movie screen." Just in case we thought we could pigeonhole Clark Hulings, there's this: a 1959 illustration that questions the … [Read more...]
Hold Your Horses
"Trucks and wagons were everywhere. Heated discussions were going on amidst goats, pigs, cows and sheep." Trading horses is a serious business. Even the expression "horse trading" is a standard metaphor for negotiations—used especially in … [Read more...]
Artistic License
"It's ironic that Hulings was the illustrator for a book cover that romanticizes what it is to be an artist." There's a myth that being an artist involves getting away from it all. An artist's identity might seem to be a delicious escape, … [Read more...]
Well-Heeled in Morocco
"The darkened doorway brings a little depth and drama to the scene, and a good reason to seek the light, air, and walk-up customers to be found outside." Clark Hulings is a great storyteller, whether he's giving us a few interesting hints … [Read more...]
Count Your Chickens
"Is the barber making a house call on a farm or are there just birds everywhere in this town?" It seems that every part of the world has its own traditions about hair. We take our relationships with our barbers and hairdressers pretty … [Read more...]
SOLD: Going Home
"It evokes that Friday-feeling of relief—of finishing work and looking forward to putting your feet up." It's hard to believe Easter and Passover are upon us already. It seems as if moments ago we were getting ready for the winter … [Read more...]
Same Sky, Different Laundry
"I decided to treat my painting as an abstraction which would stand by itself as a good design whether held upside down or sideways. Realism wasn't important." Here is a long, tall beauty from 1968. At a mere 8" across, Street in Naples is … [Read more...]
SOLD: Jewish Ghetto Courtyard
Update: This painting had a great sale at the Scottsdale Art Auction! Congratulations to the new owners. "I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people. Their best characteristic is their desire to remember." —Elie Wiesel This is a … [Read more...]
Auction Alert: Ringing Bell (Nuestra Señora de la Salud)
"The men strolling by and seated in front of the cathedral show the spectacular architecture as a host to life unfolding as usual." Clark Hulings loved Mexico, and he painted there throughout his long career. Ringing Bell (Nuestra Señora … [Read more...]
SOLD: Aix-en-Provence Flower Market
Update: This beautiful work will now have a new home after a successful sale at the 2019 Scottsdale Art Auction! "You could have run into anyone from Paul Cezanne to Albert Camus, or famous American expats like Nina Simone or Ernest … [Read more...]
The Ides of March
"Morely Callaghan's main character in this book is a failed painter who falls in love with a failed American singer—who is pretending to be Italian." The Ides of March marked a lunar cycle in the Roman calendar that was equivalent to our … [Read more...]
Naked Ambition
"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?"— Michelangelo Picture it: 1949. The Art Student's League. … [Read more...]
Ebbs and Flows
"A strong tree trunk softened by Spanish Moss frames the fisherwoman—almost as if the environment itself 'has her back.' " Clark Hulings had many ties to Louisiana: his parents moved there during WWII, when his father headed up the effort … [Read more...]
Please Stand By
"They do not agree, they did not expect it, and they have something to say about it..." When he drew this in 1999, Clark Hulings was certainly already a master painter. It was the year of his one-man show at the Nedra Matteucci Galleries … [Read more...]
Working Like a Donkey
"The burro is standing patiently, dead still, in the hot bright sunlight with only his nose tucked into the shadow." There's something about this time of year: the holidays are behind us, the spring seems miles ahead, and work is in high … [Read more...]
Year of the Pig
"This mother pig might be catching up on rest; we can't see her face, but we imagine she must be exhausted with her six hungry piglets having lunch...again." Chinese New Year gives us a chance to put the spotlight on an animal theme. Last … [Read more...]
Call the Cavalry
"An ill-advised assault, it resulted in the cavalry's defeat, and Reynolds being court-martialed and suspended from the military." Henry Winston Allen was a writer of many names. As the author of more than fifty books about the American … [Read more...]
Step by Step
"Cuernavaca is still a popular getaway, which it has been since Aztec emperors started summering there to enjoy its pleasant climate and bougainvillea." Clark Hulings loved Mexico. His body of work set there spans over 40 years. In what is … [Read more...]