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Keith
Clark
likes
to
look
at
the
world
in
black
and
white,
contrasts
of
light
and
dark
tones.
His
background
in
architecture
and
his
intense
interests
in
history
and
black-and-white
photography
all
influenced
his
exhibit
of
landscape
paintings
that
are
currently
on
display
at
the
Stonewall
Library
&
Archives
in
Fort
Lauderdale.
The
paintings,
some
of
which
depict
the
marsh
grasses
of
the
Everglades
and
seedlings,
mimic
the
olive-brown
sepia
tones
of
Old
World
photography.
They
reveal
a
distinctive
style
and
look.
"I’m
most
interested
in
texture
and
light,"
says
Clark.
"I’m
experimenting
with
paint
and
trying
to
make
it
more
luminous.
I
tried
to
create
the
feel
of
a
black-and-white
photo
or
sepia
tones
with
paint.
Color
can
distract
from
the
other
elements
of
a
composition.
When
the
color
is
stripped
away,
you
have
to
focus
on
the
light
and
texture."
He
says
he
created
the
painting
from
a
combination
of
photographs
and
his
imagination.
Clark
worked
as
an
architect
for
10
years
in
the
Washington,
D.C.
area,
designing
residential
and
commercial
interiors.
While
in
Washington,
he
also
served
as
president
of
One
in
Ten,
the
group
that
produces
Reel
Affirmations,
D.C.’s
annual
gay
and
lesbian
film
festival.
He
also
worked
on
One
in
Ten’s
Museum
Project,
helping
to
create
exhibits
of
gay
and
lesbian
history.
He
helped
to
put
together
"Pride:
Party
or
Protest?"
a
history
of
gay
pride
festivals
that
is
currently
on
display
in
Washington
until
June
11.
‘Pride:
Party
or
Protest?’
coming
to
Stonewall
Clark
currently
volunteers
as
development
director
for
Stonewall
Library
&
Archives.
His
main
mission
is
to
raise
money
for
the
organization,
but
he
also
curates
historical
exhibits
for
the
library.
Currently,
he
is
working
on
adapting
the
"Pride:
Party
or
Protest?"
show
to
tell
the
story
of
how
South
Florida’s
gay
pride
festivals
have
developed
and
charged
through
the
years.
After
receiving
a
$2,000
grant
from
the
Broward
County
Cultural
Council,
the
library
has
scheduled
the
pride
historical
exhibit
for
June
17
to
July
31.
Clark
has
been
gathering
T-shirts,
buttons
and
photos
from
past
Pride
events.
"We’ve
been
having
trouble
finding
photos
from
the
’70s
and
’80s,"
Clark
says.
Planning
Bryant
exhibit
for
library
Clark
also
plans
to
work
on
an
exhibit
about
the
Anita
Bryant
era
to
mark
the
upcoming
30th
anniversary
of
the
repeal
of
the
Dade
County
human
rights
ordinance
in
1977.
"It
will
include
photos
of
the
marches
right
after
the
repeal
of
the
ordinance,"
Clark
says.
"I
have
a
particular
interest
in
gay
history.
I
find
it
fascinating
to
take
historical
materials
and
tell
a
story
in
some
kind
of
cohesive
way."
Clark
has
also
served
as
vice
president
of
the
gay
and
lesbian
art
group,
ArtsUnited,
for
the
past
year
and
a
half.
He
helped
organize
the
group’s
main
annual
event,
Art
Explosion.
Clark
has
been
creating
art
since
he
was
in
high
school.
Back
then,
he
sold
some
of
his
pen-and-ink
sketches
of
woodland
creatures.
He
grew
up
in
a
small
artists’
colony
in
Brown
County,
Ind.,
surrounded
by
crafts,
quilting
and
sculpture.
Over
the
years,
he
has
taken
many
black-and-white
photos
of
landscapes,
including
a
recent
series
of
black-and-white
photos
of
lava
rocks
in
Hawaii.
But
after
he
started
architecture
school,
he
quit
painting.
When
he
moved
to
South
Florida,
one
of
his
goals
was
to
start
painting
again.
"ArtsUnited
really
inspired
me
to
pick
up
the
paint
brush
and
do
it
again,"
Clark
says.
Clark
currently
makes
his
living
renovating
old
houses
and
selling
them.
He
refurbishes
the
interiors
and
also
landscapes
the
yards.
Home
renovation
advice
"I
try
to
take
a
house
back
to
its
roots,"
he
says.
"I
try
to
find
the
central
character
of
the
house,
whether
its
Mediterranean,
country
or
mid-century
modern."
Clark
recently
refurbished
a
house
that
was
a
hard
sell
because
it
had
a
septic
tank
in
the
front
yard.
"It
had
no
curb
appeal
because
there
was
this
huge
mound
of
dirt
in
the
front
yard
covering
the
septic
tank,"
Clark
says.
Clark
re-landscaped
the
yard
to
create
an
English
garden
with
waterfalls
and
a
fishpond
to
cover
the
septic
tank
mound.
Clark
offered
some
advice
to
people
who
are
planning
to
renovate
their
homes.
"First,
don’t
bite
off
more
than
you
can
chew,"
he
says.
"Keep
it
simple."
He
noted
that
the
decision-making
process
is
different
depending
on
whether
an
owner
wants
to
sell
a
home
or
simply
upgrade
it
to
their
tastes
to
live
in
it.
"If
you’re
...
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