Janet Gwendolyn Smith Art

Clifton Thomas Holmquist (1968) Nebraska, Alaska

Clifton Thomas Holmquist was born in 1968 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Art projects were a way of life both parents were artists and musicians. His father sketched in his botanical diary of his garden. His mother painted expressive works of abstract, geometric and cubism.

Holmquist's first major art project was Godzilla grabbing a plane and stepping on a building while breathing fire. This was on colored construction paper in crayon. He tried his hand at colored jute textiles at the age of seven sewing an airplane with colored yarn. Both of these creations are part of the family portfolio. These projects were only the beginning. The most notorious of his public school creations was his clay project of the purple with yellow polka dotted commode. This was his fifth grade public school project influenced by his French teacher

He attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and the University of Nebraska at Omaha and continued his artistic pursuits. Working in many mediums and photography.

The fascination with nature, the sea and mountains moved him from the Nebraska plains in his twenties to Canada and Alaska. The fishing industry and the people of the north took him to sea on a fishing excursion along the Aleutian Islands through the Bering Strait. His art studies continued in photography and painting of the Alaskan wilderness. The influence of the native Alaskans, nature and culture appear in his art.

Holmquist's artistic style is the realism of nature influenced by fantasy in design and color. The art and photography he produces is displayed at local fairs and art festivals. His favorite medium is pen and colored ink. Capturing Alaskan beauty with digital photography focusing on realism. He is commissioned by corporations and individuals to capture special Alaskan moments. His passion is to show the world the pure beauty of this great northwestern state.

Copyright November 2004 Janet Gwendolyn Smith
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