El Dorado artist Jim Clements had the opportunity to share some of his painting knowledge with others recently, during a demonstration he conducted for the Kansas Academy of Oil Painters in Wichita.

Still a fairly new member of the organization, Clements was asked by the president, Mary Binford Miller, if he would be interested in doing a demonstration.

“I always love painting from live models and I enjoy interacting with the people around me who ask questions and are genuinely interested in the process,” Clements said.

For this demonstration, he pulled a volunteer from the audience as the model.

“This was a portrait demonstration, where I covered some of the fundamentals of portrait painting passed on to me by renowned artists I admire,” he said.

Throughout the demonstration he fielded questions such as explaining the types of edges, determining correct values, warm and cool color and the importance of simplified shapes and accurate drawing.

Demonstrations aren’t something new to Clements, but this one was a little larger than usual. Due to an overflow crowd, the event was moved into an auditorium.

“I think the demonstration went well,” he said. “The people seemed to enjoy it and I certainly enjoyed talking to them. I really appreciated the opportunity. I like to do that type of thing.”

In addition to demonstrations, including one at a workshop he held a couple of years ago; he often does portrait sketches during festivals and other functions.

While portraits are only a part of his work, Clements says he typically includes people in his paintings.

“I paint animals and landscapes, but people are what really interest me, so they are included in most of my paintings," he said.

Clements, who maintains his studio in El Dorado, also is a member of the Oil Painters of America and Portrait Society of America. He recently had work displayed in Merriam at the Heartland Art Show and now has work in the Red River Valley Show in Texas and will have two paintings in an upcoming show at the Southwind Gallery in Topeka.
He is working on a schedule to conduct an upcoming workshop and possibly private lessons.

“After the demonstration was over I had a number of inquiries into if I had any upcoming workshops or if I give private lessons,” he said. “Both of these are things I am working on.”

For more information or updates on upcoming events, visit Clement’s Web site at www.jimclementsart.com.