As a young man growing up in Oklahoma and Texas, with Cherokee (Tsalagi) in his blood from his Grandfather, John Hill Sr., artist Randy Groden milked cows and rode horses day after day repairing fences. He even got up the courage to ride a bull, not once, but
twice at a rodeo in a nearby town. "I was thrown hard both times, and was saved at the last minute by a Rodeo Clown," Groden says with a smile.
Close to a million portraits and an untold number of paintings later, Groden has made
his mark in the world of art, even flirting with that highly coveted realm of
international fame. After living and working out of a high-rise Turtle Creek penthouse
with a view of the Dallas skyline then to a 14-room bordello complete with long staircase
and wooden floors, he now occupies the archetypal artist's studio. Walking into his studio is like stepping back to a more
romantic time of "Gauguin" or "Toulouse-Lautrec" when an artist's studio was their sanctuary. His studio is now 50ft from the Pacific Ocean in a tropical beach town on Maui, Hawaii. An easel displays
a work in progress; he sometimes works on as many as five different paintings in various stages
of completion. There are paint tubes, pastels and paintbrushes every where.
A cigar lover, the sweet smell hangs heavily in the air adding to the ambiance of his
workplace. A dark wood bookcase that occupies one wall of his deep maroon painted studio
is stuffed to overflowing with tomes on art, cigars and other miscellaneous subjects as
well as mementos from his life. The studio is mood setting, as well as inspirational and
few people besides Groden and a few select models in the past got to see inside these hallowed walls. But now
Groden allows the public to peek inside. It is a
perfect arrangement for Groden as he creates life on canvas, painting the rich and famous
as well as those that are only "stars" to the loved ones that commission Groden.
On another wall of the studio, there is testimonial, if you will, of a career that is
dotted with rubbing elbows with a plethora of popular people.A drawing by artist Peter
Max, done especially for Groden as a personal trade of work and caricatures of musician/singer Leon Redbone occupy
space. There are framed autographs from George Burns, Claudia
Schiffer, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Mickey Rooney and Ivana Trump. A table bears a large
array of silk tulips, a gift from Tiny Tim and his then fiancee , "Miss Dixie". Plus, a photo of Groden with a dear friend of 30+ years, Sherman Hemsley aka "Mr. Jefferson" sits on a near by shelf.
It is a good life that many can only dream about. But as in the case of most artists,
success came after years of honing his skills.
David R. Groden, Sr. was born in Oklahoma, he
started drawing and painting as a young child. At age six, he
won a painting competition with a watercolor of a lion.
The next stop was Texas where his family moved in 1967.
Groden's mother, single with four children worked extra hours to pay for Groden to take private painting lessons with an artist near Dallas, Texas. At this time, he
focused on portraits and landscapes. At twelve Groden met one of his first celebrities, Joan
Crawford, he has kept her autograph along with the others to inspire him that it takes a lot of hard
work to achieve fame.
When he was 14, Groden moved to Florida to live with his father. During this phase of his life,
he received his first book on human anatomy and began painting the female form.
Although Groden has studied with many individuals around the country, he
is predominately self-taught. He has read and studied the techniques of the great Masters, and
claims a major influence from Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, Lautrec, Homer and Wyeth.
With inspiration from artists such as these, it is of little surprise that nudes occupy a big part in his works.
"From an early age, I have been in love with the female form," Groden
says. "I think they are the most beautiful creatures on earth. Every aspect of the
female species excites me from the soft, undulating curves and sensuous facial features to
their flowing silky hair."
Groden renders his love for the female body onto the canvas exceptionally well. Always tasteful, the images reflect passion and seductiveness as well as innocence. But he is
just as at ease painting the younger side, as evidenced in his portrait of a young Chelsea
Clinton. As part of a fund-raiser for a Ballet Company in the 90's, Groden was commissioned to
capture the images of numerous dancers in the troupe of which Chelsea was a member.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton later had the painting framed and presented it to her husband President Bill Clinton for his
birthday. Groden proudly includes a thank-you letter from Senator Clinton in his press
materials.
Over the years Groden has painted many important people. One was a portrait of
prominent New Orleans Gallery owner Kurt E. Schon ,
Groden is proud to say only one other artist has painted Mr. Schon and that was
Norman Rockwell.
"I am proud that I have met all the people that I have over the years because of my work," says
Groden.
"When I was a young 17 and pretty much just starting out while living in Dallas, I did an oil
painting of Stanley Marcus (of Neiman-Marcus Department Stores) from an old photograph I had found and somehow got his home
phone number. When I called the number, his wife answered the phone, then , surprised that someone
actually answered the phone, and it was Mrs. Marcus, I said something about being an
artist and having done this portrait of her husband. Even though she was on her way to the
beauty parlor, she was very gracious and gave me his private office number; I called his
secretary the next day and left a message, and then I get this call from someone asking if
I would clear the line for a phone call from Mr. Marcus," she says. "And the next
thing I knew, I was talking to Stanley Marcus and he invited me to his private office so
he could look at my work. I didn't know what to do … I had no inkling of what to
expect, so I tucked a few paintings under my arm and went."
The visit made a big impression on Groden, and was an influential factor to the
impressionable young artist.
"Here was this rich, powerful man who took the time to talk to me," says
Groden. "It was like when the doors opened, there was this cloud, and he comes walking
out of the mist. We talked and he was very encouraging to me and he said loved the portrait I had painted of him and he thanked me for it."
As is the case for many artists, success was not instantaneous.
At one point in his career Groden was doing caricatures of
200 people a day at amusement parks, conventions and nightclubs. And for a couple of years Groden was the host of a half hour children's television show, teaching kids how to draw. Although a far cry from the fine
art he now does, it was a springboard to the high life.
"I was known as the "Caricature Guy" and traded my work for advertising
on radio stations in Dallas," Groden says. "The station would do a couple
of spots on me, then it went to four and then it became a competition thing between radio
stations. He then became the highest paid caricature artist in Dallas at $200.00 per hour and the only Caricature Artist to
arrive in limousines, which put Groden on the "A" list for Dallas social events.
Coined by Dallas Morning New Society Columnist Alan Peppard
as the artist-about-town Groden could always be found at the right places.
Sitting in restaurants and dark nightclubs, Groden constantly sketched images of people
on napkins. It got him in many interesting situations around the world.
"I've met many people by sketching them from my table," says Groden.
Once in a Portugal nightclub, a couple noticed him sketching and soon he was
surrounded by patrons asking him to sketch their likeness on a napkin.
While staying in Atlanta at the Royal Coach Inn on one of his travels, he ran into a
fellow who looked very familiar. His curiosity piqued, Groden introduced
himself.
The man shook his hand and replied,"Evils the name," Groden said. "As we
talked, we realized we both knew a lot of people in the same circles, and he invited me to
sit at his table with him. when people asked him for his autograph, Knievel introduced me
as his bodyguard. At one point, I felt a tap on my shoulder and when I turned around to
see who it was, and expecting possible trouble, I was looking into the face of Tim Conway. He wanted to meet Evil, and
thinking I was his bodyguard, he was going through me to do it. And Evil as well as his actual bodyguard played right
along with it the rest of the night."
No longer known as the guy who does caricatures, Groden has built quite a reputation with his Fine Art and by
painting large murals of many subjects in private homes as well
as many public buildings and specializes in creative painting of Marble and Wood finishes and is a premiere painter of the female figure, painting large sensual commisioned portraits.
It is true that women are paramount in Groden's works, a prevalence that lays his work to
politically correct charges of sexism, of objectifying the female body for visual
consumption by a mostly male audience. Groden feels he is only carrying on the
tradition of classical art, in which the human body was the supreme vehicle for meaning, and that actually his clients are 95% women.
He has been with his beautiful wife Jean for ten years, and has a son, David R. Groden Jr. who is 30 years old.
Lovers of Groden's art can only hope that what ever his muse, he will continue
creating his beautiful work. Fans such as Ivana Trump, Jim Carrey, Claudia Schiffer, Kenny Rogers and Bo Diddly, and
of course, President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
