CLAIRE HARDY
I am passionate about color. Click on the globe link below and visit my website for details.
Message
Claire’s parents said she was drawing figures before she could speak. Art instructors during childhood encouraged her toward realism. Drawing skill has provided a foundation for her elegant oil painting compositions. After earning a business degree at UNM, Claire traveled through Europe and all around the Mediterranean studying art and history. Later, she went to the Art Institute of Florence, Italy, to learn classical oil painting techniques.
She paints figures, still lifes, landscapes, and animals, but flowers are her favorite subject. They offer a wide range for interpretation, bold colors, graceful and interesting compositions. And they are readily available models waiting in her garden. Her work is in private collections in the Pittsburgh area, the Southwest, and Europe.
Statement
Each painting is an experiment in the lab of my studio. I begin with a concept in mind for a compelling composition or a color effect and then work out problems directly on the canvas through trial and error. The painting teaches me. If it leads me on a different path from what I had envisioned, I revise my initial concept and apply it toward the next painting. Each work is a study for the next. This process allows me improve upon each painting as well as to develop a series of paintings with similar themes.
I am passionate about color. Not only is it a joy discovering how colors influence each other, but it is rewarding to see the emotional impact on the viewer. I use handmade highly-pigmented paint in predominantly warm colors. I work on several paintings at a time to keep them vibrant. I strive to improve the quality of each painting by studying and applying archival conservation methods.