Talk About Art

There is a joke – more true than funny – that most people who graduate with a particular degree never use it in their eventual career. Kennewick photographer John Clement, who graduated from Central Washington University with double degrees in geography and geology, sort of kind of uses his degrees because he takes photos of landscapes from all over the world.

But what really factored in his eventual career was the one elective class he took in photography.

"I had to borrow a camera to get through the class because at that time I didn't own one," Clement remembers. From that point on, however, he was hooked.

"I believe God has given each one of us a gift to share with others, and I believe my gift is seeing his wonderful creation in a unique way, one that communicates his love for all of us through what he has created for us to see," Clement says.

For nearly 45 years, Clement has been photographing the Pacific Northwest and beyond, garnishing during that time more than 65 regional, national, and international awards for his fine art and commercial work. Seventeen of his images are installed as murals at the Century Link Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders. Another 17 are on 4 x 8 panels at the newly remodeled Pasco Airport, and more than 200, ranging in size from 24 inches to 35 feet, form the décor for the Othello Medical Clinic.

His work is in books, on calendars, and has been published in magazines. One print, Red Dawn, was named one of the top photographs in the U.S. and entered into the permanent collection of the International Hall of Fame of Photography in Missouri. And he's still going strong, having recently returned from a trip to Europe, with images of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, taken from his own unique perspective.

"My studio is the Eastern Washington landscape and its weather, my production area is at my home, and the Lord has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams."

Through May 4, Wenaha Gallery (219 E. Main, Dayton) is showcasing a selection of Clement's landscape photography. Clement will be at the gallery in person Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the gallery's Spring Art Show. Also on hand will be Dayton jewelry and nostalgic journal artist Dawn Moriarty, and Milton-Freewater steel sculptor Anne Behlau. To all visitors who fill out a short survey naming their favorite works of art by each artist, the gallery is giving out a free Spring Bingo paper flimsy, to be used at Spring Bingo later that day, sponsored by the American Legion Frank E. Bauers Post 42 of Dayton.