Michael Clements • Village Galleries Maui
Michael was born in Decatur, Illinois in 1950 and has been a Maui resident since 1987.
“When I was old enough to hold a crayon, I began my journey as an artist with a bold orange line wrapping around each wall of our house. I didn't get any rave reviews! I can still recall the joy in making that line follow me all around the house. I kept drawing (on paper of course) and when I turned 12 my Great Grandmother Alice Colerick taught me how to use oil paint. Grandma Alice was nearly 80 then and a daily painter who had returned to her passion in her later years. I started my lessons by painting scenes from Arizona Highways magazine. They were exotic landscapes compared to the farmland of the Midwest. I continued to paint through High School and then my life's course led me away from art. I worked many jobs, kept moving west and became a proto type machinist, a horticulturist, landscape contractor, nurseryman, business owner and finally found my way back to the joy of drawing and painting. Today, I paint everyday. You can find me painting around Maui everywhere I travel.
“Michael Clements captures Maui’s light and atmosphere with remarkable delicacy and intensity. His works are clear, direct and oh so brilliant. He works in pastel, and while few painters attempt this challenging time-tested medium, he is an acknowledged master”
Jean Stern
Director, the Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine , Institute and Museum for California Art