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Maidstone artist Graham Clarke: Now and Then at Maidstone Museum

He squeezes his love for the quirky and Kentish into his art wherever he can – and his heart is firmly in his home county (though he occasionally holidays in Greece). Here, Graham Clarke talks about his life and work as he prepares for his biggest ever Kent exhibition.

Graham is sitting in front of his log-burning stove, surveying a fraction of 50 years’ worth of etchings, artwork and eclectic objects that he has gathered together in his studio just outside Maidstone.

As an artist who’s worked pretty much every day since he left college, where he was a self-confessed country bumpkin in central London, when it came to condensing his life’s work down into an eight-week exhibition, there was quite a lot of “stuff,” as he calls it, to go through.

Graham Clarke at work on an etching
Graham Clarke at work on an etching

Graham’s distinctive pictures have, since the 1960s, been bringing the country life, quirkiness, and above all, Kentishness to walls across the county and beyond. (There may even be some hanging in Buckingham Palace, but his lips are sealed).

He puts the things he likes most into them, from fish and hats, to hops and beer and Margate to Greece in a charming way – and all with plenty of humour – which has proved so popular he has been able to be a working artist his whole life.

He said: “The techniques and the medium have changed but the style is similar. I was working in watercolour and lino cuts, but I wanted to make more detail and decided etching was the thing. I like it and enjoy it and I work every day. I wanted to be more of a storyteller, which is what I am. Etching provided the tool. I admit I am 200 years out of date.”

Graham Clarke's limited edition etching Very Much Obliged
Graham Clarke's limited edition etching Very Much Obliged

With wife Wendy, with whom he has four grown-up children Jason, Abi, Em and Tilly, he has been able to devote his time to his art. “In 1971, I stopped teaching part-time. I was very happy to do so. I don’t think I was a great teacher.

“I have been ever so lucky. We have both worked hard. We have had some good friends who have helped us along the way. When I met Wendy, I thought ‘that’s the girl for me’. And she has been. I don’t divide being an artist from being a husband, father or grandfather. It’s all me.”

The pair have made a home and a rambling and fascinating studio, in Boughton Monchelsea where school parties and foreign fans can visit. They also have a second home in Cornwall, where Graham entered a carnival float each year – several of which he still owns.

Although all his works are from etchings, which can take days or even weeks, and are limited editions, he always carries a little notebook with him to capture inspiration when he gets it. They are crammed full of birds, fish, boats and everything from coins to hats.

Graham with Cllr Dan Daley (right) at the Maidstone Jazz Festival
Graham with Cllr Dan Daley (right) at the Maidstone Jazz Festival

Look at most Graham Clarke works and you will find Kent in there somewhere, and often Maidstone. “I love Maidstone’s history,” he says. “I love the old buildings. Thank God we actually preserve some of them now. There are a few out there to hold on to.”

He has immersed himself in local life, a fan of local beer and micro breweries, president of CPRE Kent for 20 years and Kent ambassador, plus a member of the ad-hoc Boughton Monchelsea “Youth” Orchestra (average age 75) with friends and local stalwarts.

He also designed the logo for the late, lamented Maidstone River Festival, and is in the process of writing his autobiography. It’s meant some serious reflection, as has his forthcoming Maidstone Museum exhibition, Now and Then.

He said: “This is a tiny fraction of it. I am not my best own critic, I let other people do that. But I want everything I do to be the best it can. Whenever I feel a bit down, I think how I can make people smile and that’s quite a nice thing to be able to do, don’t you think?”

Graham in his studio near Maidstone Picture: Matthew Walker
Graham in his studio near Maidstone Picture: Matthew Walker

DETAILS

Graham Clarke Now & Then runs until Saturday, March 18, at Maidstone Museum in St Faith’s Street, Maidstone.

It will feature etchings, blockprints, watercolours and sketchbooks spanning the last 50 years, showing his unique style which is in demand the world over. It runs from 10am to 5pm each day. For details visit museum.maidstone.gov.uk/whats-on

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