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Tom Hempel, a professional artist, is exhibiting his watercolors at the River Arts Center gallery in Clinton through July 30.

Tom Hempel, a professional artist, is exhibiting his watercolors at the River Arts Center gallery in Clinton through July 30.

CLINTON — Tom Hempel, a professional artist, is exhibiting his watercolors at the River Arts Center gallery through July 30.

A reception will be held on Sunday, July 10, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. The reception is open to the public and free to attend. The River Arts Center is located at 229 Fifth Ave. South in downtown Clinton. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 1-4 p.m.

Hempel was born in Chicago, but moved to Bettendorf when in seventh grade. He was moved to advanced art classes at Bettendorf High School, where he developed an interest in watercolors, encouraged by his art teacher, Don Posten.

He then served in the Army, spending one year in Vietnam as a construction engineer. He resumed his art training at Palmer Junior College, laid down his brushes for 11 years and married Marti Carstensen in 1975.

She rekindled his love of watercolors by asking him to do a painting of Boyler’s Iron Works in Davenport. Having that painting framed led to his first sale, when a man saw it and offered to buy it, then asking Tom to paint his own house.

Other offers followed, which kept him busy alongside his employment at Case Company.

Since retiring, he has been able to devote all of his time to honing his skills as a watercolor artist, painting homes here and abroad as well as landscapes, some from his own imagination.

He has received the People’s Choice Awards at various art fairs, including Riverssance, Beaux Arts Fair, and the Rock Island Art Guild. In 2019, he became a member of the Iowa Watercolor Society and has had his paintings selected for the IWS Traveling Show.

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