Grandma Moses started painting at 78 years of age.
Glenn Clark of Seal Beach began painting mythical animals and symbols as well as carving Totem Poles at age 79.
Three years later he has countless panels of “First People” art and several totems. Thunderbirds, tikis and Sun Gods adorn the inside and outside of his art-festooned home in the Seal Beach Trailer Park.
Clark, with his wild white hair and penetrating eyes, lived a full life before he started on his art career.
The father of four – who hails from British Columbia – has married his current wife, Pat, three different times.
Pat appears devoted to him, and says she is “in awe” of the artistic talent he is displaying in his eighth decade of life.
“He is also a poet,” Pat said proudly, praising his way with words.
But that isn’t surprising, since he left his career as a postmaster to edit a newspaper, the Vanderhoof Nechako Chronicle. There, he was an award-winning writer, receiving the Jack Sanderson award for editorial writing – one of Canada’s highest awards given to weekly newspapers.
But Clark the writer and editor also had an eye for art.
“I was always very interested in the unique art of the “First People” (what we refer to as Indians or Native Americans) of Northern British Columbia and Alaska. In fact, I had said many times that I wanted to carve a Totem Pole, but I never got around to it until about three years ago,” Clark said.
His current project – another wood totem called a Thunderbird – sits on the floor of his living room.
Or, part of its form is on the floor. It looks like a rounded block of wood at this point, with some detail emerging.
But he quickly grabs two ornately-carved wings that will adorn the sides of the Thunderbird and holds them up to the back of the totem.
Ahh..taking shape.
Then he holds a carved block of wood that curves downward and holds it on the “face.”
Suddenly it is obvious it is the Thunderbird’s beak.
Of course, this was all obvious to Clark from the beginning.
Where you or I might see a piece of wood, nothing more, Clark sees figures, animals, mystical symbols…a universe of his imagination.
Wife Pat often points to his head and says “it’s all up there,” of the unusual art that emerges as her husband works.
Clark’s tools are chisels, various saws, electric sanders, brushes, paint and more.
Of his latest work, the Thunderbird, Clark says it is thought to be the largest of the native gods.
“The Thunderbird was very powerful. It was so large it could swoop down and eat a whale,” Clark said.
One of his paintings (on wood) is a raven, also a mythical creature.
“The First People thought the raven was the creator of the world. Almost all tribes portray the raven in some form,” said Clark.
“The raven is also known as the creature that “stole the sun.” Clark explains.
“A powerful chief kept the sun in a box for his own use and pleasure. One day the raven stole the sun out of the box and carried it up to the sky, releasing it so the world could have light,” said Clark.
What a Totem Pole is, exactly, is different creatures stacked on top of one another. “They tell the story of your family.”
Clark’s story will live on in his art. In a scant three years he has painted more than 150 drawings and creatures and carved several pieces.
If you drive down First Street from Pacific Coast Highway toward the ocean, look to the right as you pass the trailer park.
You’ll be treated to the sight of exquisite Totem Poles as well as a Sun God, brightly painted and sure to do their job warding off evil spirits that may be lurking nearby.
