Robert Clunie Plein-Air Painter of the Sierra
Richard Coons started painting when he was 47 years old. He was trained in the plein-air tradition by Robert Clunie (California Art Club, 1930-1958), Larry Kronquist, and marine painter, Bennett Bradbury. He studied at Laguna Beach Art School.Inspired by the sea, the desert, but mostly by his beloved Sierra Nevada, he lived his entire life in the remote Eastern Sierra town of Bishop, California.He was married to Wynne Benti Coons, an artist and owner of a small publishing company.Born in Los Angeles, California, on December 13, 1929, the middle son of Grace Manley Coons and William Rowland Coons, a hydrographer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and a surveyor on the construction of the Tioga Road on Yosemite's east side.In the fall of 1945, Richard Coons was asked by his grandfather to assist him with a delivery of concrete blocks to newcomer and fine artist, Robert Clunie, for construction of Clunie's art studio on the North Fork of Bishop Creek and Sierra Highway. Then a student at Bishop Union High School in the Eastern Sierra, Coons was a ski racer and friend of Dave McCoy, founder of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Aware of the young man's notable track accomplishments as reported in the local newspaper, and as an athlete of some note himself, Clunie struck up a conversation about sports with Coons.Destiny or chance, it was a meeting that changed the course of Richard Coons' life. Thirty years later, when he quit his business as a building contractor, divorced his fist wife, gave away all of his possessions, choosing instead the path of a plein-air oil painter, the elder Clunie became his mentor. When Clunie died in 1984, Coons purchased his art studio. In 1998, Coons wrote and published the definitive volume on his mentor's life: "Robert Clunie Plein-Air Painter of the Sierra".An artist member of the California Art Club, Richard participated in many exhibitions, including several California Art Club Gold Medal Shows as well as a joint exhibition with Robert Clunie at the Ventura County Historical Museum. He won many awards and placed in the National Parks Art For the Parks Top 100 competition. He was a prolific painter, estimating having painted close to 4,000 realist canvases of the Sierra Nevada.