BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Mossman Hall displayed the works of two area artists during the June 6 Melrose Art Walk.
St. Simons Island resident Alyson Tucker was raised in Atlanta and moved to Georgia’s Golden Isles in the 1970s to escape the city.
“That was when the drug culture was so strong,” she said, “and I wanted to get out of the city, and St. Simons was the perfect place to be. It’s a beautiful area.”
The Peach State’s southeastern coast provided Tucker with a treasure of scenes, including wetlands, rivers, beaches, historic structures, sunrises, and most importantly for the artist, the people who interact in those scenes.
The joy in life’s simple experiences
When asked what she enjoys painting most, Tucker replied, “Probably people; I like to have people in paintings.”
Many of Tucker’s works feature paths, walkways, roads, and trails.
“The reason I think I’m so drawn to paths is because we’re all on a path,” she said. “We all have a journey we’re making, and some of them are different, some of them are alike, and I think that’s why I’m drawn to paths.”
Tucker’s work amplifies the joy of the simple moments in life: a newlywed couple watching the activities on the beach from a pier, a man and his dog sitting on the dock, the joy of a young father gazing into the face of his newborn.
“I like to find people that are doing what they love doing, and then I like to capture them in a painting.”
During her show in Melrose, Tucker pointed to one oil-on-canvas she created from the Fort Frederica area on St. Simons.
“I was painting the path that went to General James Oglethorpe’s house,” she said, “and all of a sudden, these two girls, they were in their teens. They both had on red shorts and white shirts, and they were holding hands as they went down the path.”
Tucker said she quickly grasped the moment and the joy of the teenagers walking down the trail.
“Those girls just filled it with life for me,” she recalled.
Tucker said art was her therapy growing up in a troubled childhood.
“I kept up with it all my life,” she said, “and then I got to where I could sell a few here and there. It’s a passion.”
Called to teach, called to paint
While Tucker’s art occupied the first floor of the Mossman, Mary Ann Clawson’s collection filled the second floor.
Clawson said she was a ward of the state and adopted at age 13. Her adopted mother owned a woodcraft shop in McIntosh.
“As soon as I could hold a crayon,” she remembered, “I was drawing.”
Her mother saw talent in the 13-year-old, encouraging the teenager to develop her creativity.
In college, she studied early childhood education and art, but after completing her education, she briefly chose a different vocation.
“I decided I wanted to be a police officer,” she recalled.
But after finishing the academy and six months on the streets, Clawson realized her calling in life was rooted in the wood crafts she helped her mother create in McIntosh.
“It wasn’t for me,” Clawson said about her law enforcement career. “But I am, without a doubt, called to teach, called to paint, and be creative.”
She added that she believes every person was created to create.
“We are created in the image of God,” she said. “And if we’re created in His image and He’s the master artist, then we’re all created to create.”
Clawson added that all occupations possess an element of creativity, from building construction to music performance, and from service writing in an auto repair shop to writing for a newspaper.
“No matter what you’re doing,” she said, “I think that you need to have a level of creativity.”
After leaving law enforcement, Clawson combined her training in art and teaching. She taught art in both private and public schools in the Brunswick, Georgia area.
A big turning point in Clawson’s artistic development came in the form of a phone call from a friend.
“One day somebody calls me and says, ‘Hey, would you like to come and have lunch with Al Black?’”
Black was one of the 26 Florida Highwaymen, African-American artists who painted landscapes on construction materials and sold their work from the trunks of their cars along the Sunshine State’s highways.
Clawson accepted the invitation and the two became friends.
“He really influenced my art,” Clawson said. “I like to paint Florida landscapes. Watching him really kind of taught me how to speed up my paintings and to just see in depth.”
“I had opportunities to spend time teaching him,” she added. “I’ve had him in my home and he’s been here; he’s taught some classes here.”
Black also gave Clawson some branding help, nicknaming her Florida’s Legacy Artist.
“And so, I’m like, you know what? I really like that name, so I’m going to use that,” Clawson recalled.
Black died on May 12, leaving just four of the original Highwaymen still alive. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.
Now, Clawson owns Painted Planet School of Art in Melrose.
“I teach children drawing and painting, and I teach adult painting classes,” she said. “I also do Paint-and-Sit type parties where you come in, and I do step-by-step. So, if you want to just come and have a good time painting, you can do that and do a step-by-step class.”
She also offers options for students who want to develop their talents further.
“It just kind of depends on what people’s goals are,” she said.
