Clive R. Tyler Biography
Clive R. Tyler, of Ft. Collins, Colo., studied both fine art and design at Kent State University and had a 20-year career as a graphic and product designer. A dedicated plein air painter, his work has won many honors and awards, including Best of Show at the Museum of Outdoor Arts, the People’s Choice Award from the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Paint Out; and The Pastel Journal’s 8th Annual Pastel 100 competition. He’s an elected member of the Pastel Society of America and a signature member of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters.
Painting en plein air is clearly Clive R. Tyler’s passion, but otherwise it can be a little difficult to pin him down as an artist. He primarily paints landscapes, but there are also a lot of wild animals in his paintings. This is a circumstance beyond his control—when he’s painting outdoors, animals just tend to show up, becoming a part of the landscape. He feels it would be dishonest to leave them out.
“Someone once told me it’s an ‘environment’ style of painting,” Tyler says. “The landscape is there, and when the animals appear, I have to ask myself: Am I really just painting a stream, or am I painting a whole experience of something that’s happening in the world, something that happens all the time and nobody gets to see it? So, I incorporate the animals because they’re what’s really there.”
“Environment painter” is a title that suits Tyler’s drive to immerse himself in his locales so that he can represent them as best he can. The Ft. Collins, Colo., resident paints outdoors as much as possible. “I have to be there; then I can paint,” he says. Even his larger pieces, done in the studio, are based on his plein air painting experiences. My process is an inquiry into sensuous potential of paint. To explore the mystery of sensation, to touch that which is known but cannot be measured, understood yet indescribable; the act of painting is an expression of my connectedness with God and Nature. I am Nature.
Awards
- 2008 Best of Show Plein Air Artists Colorado 12th Annual Member's Exhibition
- 2008 Pastel Journal Magazine, 3rd, 5th and 7th place
- 2007 People Choice Award, Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters 6th annual National Event in Winter Park, Colorado
- 2007 Pastel Journal Magazine, 4th and 8th place
- 2005 Merit Award of Excellence, Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters, Estes Park, Colorado
- 2005 People's Choice Award, Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters, Winter Park, Colorado
- 2003 Best of Show, Museum of Outdoor Arts, Denver, Colorado