For decades, Clarence Lukingbeal was Farmersville’s unofficial “artist in residence,” creating treasured oil paintings from his living room studio on Dayton-Farmersville Road.

From around 1930 when he started working in oils at the urging of his wife Alba, to the early 1970s, Lukingbeal prolifically painted landscapes from his beloved community of Farmersville and from inspiration gleaned during trips to the Great Smoky Mountains.

He did not take photos or sketches, but recreated the scenes from memory. “You paint it first in your head.” he told the Dayton Daily News in a 1955 feature.

According to the profile in the Dayton Daily News, “Clarence Lukingbeal has been a school teacher, gravel pit operator and farmer—but always by avocation artist.”

Lukingbeal didn’t have much formal training, but according to the paper and family, he spent time in his early years, around 1914, at the Cleveland Art Institute, where he studied cartooning. Around that same time, he had a political cartoon published by the Dayton Daily News, his only submission.

While he never achieved the fame he and his family aspired to, Lukingbeal did exhibit work in Chicago and NY and had several one-man shows in Ohio, according to the Dayton Daily News profile.

Check Your Walls for Local History

Lukingbeal’s paintings, usually signed, are featured in the homes of many local community members. A painting at an estate sale 20 years ago sold for more than $200. Grandson Steve Lukingbeal of Cincinnati said in an interview that the paintings have sold for $200-1,000 each.

But many of Lukingbeal’s best works were kept for family. “One criticism of him was that he would not sell his better works,” noted Grandson Steve. “So we all kept them. I don't think we kept them for investment purposes, but every one of the grandkids, every one of his children, has between five and ten of them. And some, like my cousin and my brother, have 20 or 30 of them.”

Lukingbeal did sell paintings from his home regularly. Family and community members recall a large sale at the farm in the early 1970s before he moved to an assisted living facility in Celina to be near his daughter.

Lukingbeal's paintings were said to be displayed in the Farmersville School Auditorium and the Farmersville Bank. School officials say they do not have the paintings, and they are not in the current school, which is slated for demolition in 2026. A manager at the Twin Valley Bank in Farmersville said they do not have the paintings.

Committed to Community

Born December 10, 1892, Lukingbeal was married to Alba (Izor) and raised four children who all graduated from Farmersville High School: Robert, Mark, Kent, Janet and Jane. At the time of his death in January 1980, he had 15 grandchildren.

Clarence and Alba were married in 1916 and according to their grandson, they had both trained as school teachers at Miami University. They both met teaching and may have served in local one-room schoolhouses.

Lukingbeal then started a gravel company, which, according to his grandson was fairly successful. Clarence claimed to his family that he could see the Great Depression coming on, and he sold out right before the stock market crash.

Clarence and Alba then bought a farm on Dayton-Farmersville Road with around 130 acres and became full-time farmers. The house stands today, but family members note it has been expanded and updated.

While no members of the immediate Lukingbeal family currently live in the community, the family notes that many relatives and distant cousins remain, including members of the Izor, Oldfather, Stockslager, Rhodes, Pence and Rodeheaver families.

Grandson Steve recalls the pride Clarence took in his work. “Every time we would visit the farm, which was several times a year, he would do a half hour presentation of his paintings and different developments and changes on the farm.”

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