Ervin Clark was born in Washington, Indiana in 1948 and moved to California in 1953. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and received his classical training at California College of Arts and Crafts in 1973. He then earned a Master of Fine Arts from California State University at Chico in 1986. The direction of Clark's work was influenced by the Realism movement in the 60's as led by artists such as Robert Bechtel and Chuck Close.

Clark has traveled widely in the pursuit of his art. He has made sketching and
painting trips to such far flung places as Germany, Hawaii, Switzerland, Mexico
and Northern Italy. He was particularly impressed by the works of the artists of
the Italian Renaissance like Caravaggic, Leonardo and Bernini. For about a year
he made Amsterdam his home where he studied the paintings of Van Gogh.

A long list of sculpture and mural commissions attest to Clark's popularity
as an artist and the demand for his work. One of his favorite commissioned
works (installed 1992) can be found at the Baltimore Orioles Basketball Stadium
in Maryland.

Clark's most recent works on paper reflect the classical influence he gained
while in Europe. They portray the human figure against architectural backdrops.
The design and composition of the pieces have a contemporary feel while
still displaying Clark's eye and hand, so influenced by the Old Masters. "Their
technical brilliance and emotional impact of their work" says Clark, "will continue
to have a profound influence in my art".