Claire Murray | MA Fine Art | BA Fine Art (Painting) | PGCert Surface Pattern (Dist) | PGCE Art & Design

Dean Clough Mills, Halifax, UK

At university during my undergraduate degree, I was heavily influenced by the Abstract Expressionists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Wassily Kandinsky and Willem Da Kooning, and the British poet Ted Hughes.  These artists, and the work of British artists Peter Lanyon, Bryan Wynter and Graeme Sutherland, have stayed with me throughout my own development as a contemporary artist in the UK.  During my MA in Fine Art, I explored more conceptual and mixed media forms, such as installation, photography and film, before returning to painting later.

 My paintings are essentially about the world around me, and are an attempt to understand the systems and natural order of our existence.  I am inspired by the landscape, its geography, topography, light, colour, texture and sense of place and space.  As a visual artist, the physical natural environment gives me such a lot of visual stimuli to work with, and feeds my mental and imaginative landscapes to the point that I never work to ‘represent’ a place, but perhaps try instead to ‘inhabit’ that space within a painting.  

There is no attempt to recreate a perfect ‘scene’, but to convey textures, colour palette and light of exterior (and sometimes interior) spaces we all recognise, remember or imagine.  I explore ideas of exposure and sanctuary, the idea that the landscape is at once beautiful, safe, romantic and soft, but also treacherous, sinister and often dangerous.   Dangerous conditions masquerading as beauty.  The elements: water, earth, air and sky are present in almost all of the pieces, suggesting a natural order, balance, drama and fragility of our environment.  

Consider my website a gallery to browse my portfolio, a place to look at my paintings.  A painting can be enquired about, by contacting me directly by email, and I can arrange private viewings to see more of my collection.  In lieu of exhibiting and seeing my work up close and personal, I am able to conduct studio tours via Zoom for anyone interested in seeing my work and finding out more.  Please make contact via email for more information.

Purchasing Artwork & Artwork in Private Collections

My paintings are owned by collectors and private buyers internationally, and I have pieces in private collections in Northern Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Spain, and across the USA.

Serious enquiries can be made direct to my studio by email please. I can provide much helpful information this way, in terms of pricing, detailed photos, media and range of availability, before you commit to an in person viewing. There is absolutely no obligation to buy and it’s always a pleasure to show someone my work.