By Satina Tolman
For The New Era
The newest installment of the SHOCASE Art Exhibit at Sweet Home City Hall features the talents of a father-and-daughter duo.
The art show of Pam Ogden and Lane Clem is on display through May 31 in the hallways at City Hall, 3225 Main St. The exhibit is free to view during City Hall hours, Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Ogden has lived in Sweet Home for 30 years with her husband, Jason, now the city’s police chief and city manager, and their six children, all of whom she has homeschooled.
She works with a variety of art mediums and also enjoys building model houses, writing memoirs and painting portraits. Several of her watercolor portraits are on display at City Hall.
Art has been a passion for Ogden since childhood, she said. As a child, she even built a scale model of a real 1920s farmhouse, complete with historical furniture.
Faces are her favorite subject. She is drawn to the realism of expressions and said hair, clothing and background are less important to her.
“I just want to show the expressions on the faces,” she said. “I have always wanted to illustrate a children’s book for that reason. I want to show the expression and details of the face, but the rest of the body can be kind of abstract.”
Ogden has several watercolor portraits showcased in the exhibit, including one of her neighbor Judy and another of her grandmother, Opal. She also has a line drawing of her daughter embracing a family friend whom they consider an adopted grandfather, capturing a moment of emotional affection.
Among her works is a striking portrait of Victor Hugo, in which she captures deep expression in the author’s eyes.
“I love Victor Hugo,” Ogden said. “My kids and I were obsessed with ‘Les Misérables,’ all the productions of it, but especially the unabridged giant brick book.” She said she relied on blurry black-and-white images from history and had to imagine what he might have looked like up close.
She also painted one of her favorite composers, Claude Debussy, inspired by her oldest daughter, who frequently plays his music.
Despite her own talent, Ogden was initially reluctant to participate in the exhibit because she wanted the spotlight to focus on her father.
“I thought it really should be my dad’s show,” she said. However, the two are quick to praise each other with evident pride.
Clem began pursuing watercolor more seriously in 1983 while working at First Interstate Bank in Beaverton. He started by painting portraits of co-workers’ children. He has no formal training and said his talent comes from “sweat and determination.”
As a child, Clem was fascinated with automobiles, especially classic models. He dreamed of collecting and restoring them, but the expense did not align with his financial goals. Through watercolor, he found he could paint them and “own” his favorite classics as artwork. He has since been commissioned by people nationwide to paint antique and classic cars.
His work has appeared in several shows over the years, including displays at the Village Gallery of Art in Beaverton and in the display window of the Portland Justice Center. “It has grown a lot more than I ever anticipated or planned,” Clem said of his artistic career.
Clem has one oil painting in the exhibit.
“I struggled with it and decided I don’t like to do oil painting, so it is the last one I ever did,” he said.
He also has wood-carved artwork on display, including a clock designed to resemble a giant wristwatch and an antique sewing machine clock he made as a gift for his wife, Marie, who quilts.
The couple have been married 60 years and have three children and 10 grandchildren. Clem has also crafted wooden toy tools with working hinges and parts, including a socket wrench with interchangeable sockets.
One watercolor painting depicts a scene in Julian, Calif., a small town in the mountains east of San Diego.
“I saw that truck parked there, and I really wanted that truck,” he said. “I didn’t care about the stores or anything, but I loved that truck. So I painted the truck, and the background kind of just went with it.”
Other works include a canal street in Venice, Italy, and Hearst Castle in California.
Many of Clem’s remaining pieces feature classic cars.
“All my life, I have been fascinated with cars,” he said. “If I were very rich and had all the money I wanted, I would have bought cars all over the place. … So I figured if I paint them, it’s almost like I have them.” Clem also made the wooden frames used in the exhibit and cut all the mats himself.
Clem and his wife are square dancers. The Oregon Federation of Square Dance Clubs issued a challenge to design the cover for its 2021 directory, and one of Clem’s pieces on display was selected. He later donated the painting for auction, where it sold for $600 and was loaned back for the exhibit.
His favorite painting is one he gifted to his grandson, Ivan Ogden. A close look reveals reflections of people in the polished side of a 1960 red Thunderbird.
The first car Clem ever painted is also included. He recalled seeing a black 1950 Ford for sale for $75 when he was in high school. Unable to afford it, he painted it instead. “So I got my car, but I can’t drive it,” he said. His daughter added, “You don’t have to maintain it, though.”
Among Ogden’s portraits sits Clem’s only portrait in the exhibit, which is his grandson Henry, playing baseball.
Clem hopes viewers feel nostalgia when they see his work. He wants his paintings of old cars and familiar places to spark memories.
Of her father, Ogden said, “He can pretty much do anything. He builds and refinishes furniture, knits, paints, draws, sings, dances, calls square dances, plays the piano and organ, and will tackle almost any home repair. He’s definitely multi-gifted.”
Clem said his daughter has “always been very creative and artistic” and grew up in a home that encouraged creativity. He recalled she was “very young” when she decorated her bedroom by drawing a forest on the walls and ceiling. “I didn’t have permission to do that either,” Ogden said. Clem added, “We didn’t discourage her, though.”
Lee Roscoe-Bragg, art curator for the SHOCASE City Hall Art Exhibits, praised the duo. “I love it. It is so great with all the variety,” Roscoe-Bragg said.
Artists interested in being featured by SHOCASE can learn more at sweethomeshocase.org or on the organization’s Facebook page.