His father, who worked as a carriage painter in Sacramento, influenced Clarence Hinkle at an early age. Young Hinkle’s formal art training began in San Francisco, and he soon earned a scholarship to study in Paris, where he was greatly influenced by the Impressionists and Pointillists. Returning to California in 1912, Hinkle taught at the Los Angeles School of Art & Design, Chouinard Art Institute, and the Santa Barbara School of Art. He first made his home in Laguna Beach and then, in 1935, moved to Santa Barbara. His work includes landscapes, still life, portraiture, and figure paintings.