Bike to Cloar – Earle, AR
Saturday was a very special day for me. The Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis TN, one of the most respected galleries for miles, hosted an event in my home town of Earle, Arkansas. I had been looking forward to it for weeks, except for one part… biking. I love yoga; biking is a whole other story…
However, the weather turned out to be perfect, and the 6 miles was surprisingly not bad at all. I loved seeing the places I drive by all the time up close and personal. It was slow, peaceful and magical all at once; the perfect mood to contemplate Cloar.
The Brooks did a fantastic job of setting the stage too, with markers for all the iconic painting subject matter. Plus the Crittenden Co. Museum at Earle worked hard to get the Angel at Gibson Bayou cleared off — something no one in my all-Earle-native family can recall ever happening before.
Just to be able to freely walk around something I’ve only seen from a distance was an experience of itself. It’s so incredibly beautiful and intact, even all these years later.
As an artist and Earle native, I have been a fan of Carroll Cloar all of my life. Seeing so many people care enough to visit the tiny town of Earle was incredible of itself. The Brooks has done a remarkable job stirring up well-earned publicity to this underrated American master artist.
If you haven’t made your way to Memphis to see the Carroll Cloar exhibit at the Brooks, I highly suggest it. I have never seen many of the works on display, and many more I had never seen in color. Dr. Stanton Thomas did an incredible job choosing the best of the best for this once in a lifetime show. I can’t thank the Brooks enough for the #summerofcloar.
