Ford Gone Wild

Classical realist painter Lonni Clarke, known for her portraiture, horses, and still life, grew up in Thousand Oaks, California. Trips to European museums as a teenager greatly influenced her tastes and very traditional personal aesthetic. She earned degrees in History from UCLA and Fashion Design from FIT in New York. Lonni worked briefly in the New York fashion industry, illustrated fashion, and finally began painting in earnest, aided by evening classes at Art Center. She considers herself primarily self-taught and schooled by museums, however.

Horse obsessed as a child, she filled page margins with horse drawings. Lonni returned to that subject as a professional artist. Living just minutes from Santa Anita Park and other prime equestrian venues, she painted the pageantry of sleek horses, elegant riders, and raucously colored racing silks. After moving to rural Utah Lonni’s work reflected the pastoral scenes around her as well as commissioned portraits for clients around the US.

Clarke has painted many portraits, still lifes, and equine paintings for Polo/Ralph Lauren corporate offices, flagship stores, and print ads. She has been represented by galleries in Laguna Beach, Carmel, Jackson Hole, Park City, Orem, Saratoga Springs, Lexington, Santa Fe, and her hometown, Saint George, Utah. She illustrated book and magazine covers for major New York publishers and horse industry publications and her commissioned portraits grace many private collections.