Born and raised in a small village in Northamptonshire, Claire and her family continue to reside there today. After studying at Norwich School of Art she attended The Royal College of Art gaining an MA in Illustration. She paints daily in her home studio, often making time to visit gardens both locally and further afield creating working drawings in her sketchbooks. These form the basis of the final work created in her studio. She also enjoys teaching small groups of keen local artists.
'The garden has always been a cherished place to me, brought under control, suppressed and then cultivated in an ordered fashion. Spending time in my family garden, whilst my children have been growing up, has enabled me to plant and compose the borders inspiring my sense of design.
In my paintings I love to create atmosphere through light, colour, shape and texture, capturing the feeling of solace and tranquillity that the garden and wider landscape produce. My working process involves creating an initial response to a garden or landscape using a variety of media in my sketchbooks, these often contain a variety of pre-coloured and collaged pages. Back in the studio I work from the images I have created, forming a final piece of work in watercolour, always with the aim of creating a spirit of place.'
