Claire Sparkes is a figurative painter. She studied a Fine Art Degree at the Liverpool Sir John Moores University, and a Masters Degree in Fine Art Painting at the University for Creative Arts in Canterbury. She has exhibited regularly in London, other UK cities, and abroad in both group and solo exhibitions. Claire was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 2019, and has also been a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art since 2013. She currently lives and works on the South East coast of England.
Claire regards drawing as fundamental to her artistic process, and places great importance on the continued development of her observational and mark-making skills. Techniques of drawing and painting interplay within her work. Claire’s narrative paintings primarily focus on people and the human condition, whilst also encompassing still life, interiors and landscape. At times her work crosses these boundaries interrelating and layering elements.
Claire usually paints with watercolour, enjoying the versatility and fluidity of the medium. She works on one painting at a time, investing each work with its own specific research, spirit, and atmosphere. Her paintings are created slowly, layering paint and mark-making techniques, from loose, gestural techniques to drawing with brushes to create fine detail. Sketches, research notes and photographs form the starting point for each painting. Claire also works from the model and reference objects, developing her paintings in the studio.
‘Stribog’s Seamstress’ watercolour & pencil, weaves a narrative which evolved through research into Slavic mythology. The painting draws upon connections which flow through time and space, between different cultures, individuals & mythologies, acknowledging the importance of nature and its changing seasons.