Finding Light.

At the beginning.....

9/18/20262 min read

Hello Friends.

So this content has taken me a while to share, its quite personal. But actually its really important.

Recently I have taken a short break from having a full schedule. Its been a busy summer full of good things and some blips, and that brings time to contemplate and consider….

So I thought perhaps its time to re-introduce myself , with a little more insight :

I'm Claire, and I'm a painter. I paint landscapes and seascapes, mostly places that stay with me in some way — wild coastlines, water, mountains, open spaces, light, places where I feel something shift or gentle within me.

I've been painting for a while, but I don't think I've ever really talked about what truly sits underneath the paintings.

Grief has played a part of my life for quite some time. I haven't really spoken about it before. Perhaps because some things take a long time to find words for….

Approximately eight years ago I lost too many people who were the most important to me, and two dear animals who had been a part of my life for over fifteen years. It hurt and was the hardest time of my life, unquestionably.

I became drawn by the idea that certain places seem to hold us, even when we're struggling to hold ourselves. The places where the light gets in, in every sense. I began trying to translate emotion and visual with paint onto canvas inspired by these places.

It has changed the way I see landscape. The way I experience light, and life. The way I notice absence, silence, distance — and also beauty.

There are special places I go to that feel like they keep something sacred for me. Places where I can breathe a little more deeply. They have played a huge part in my paintings so far, these places and have become talismanic in many ways.

Not simply what the place looks like, but what it feels like to be there. The ghosts we meet on the shores and the songs we hear on the wind. The memories we glance dancing over the water, caught in dappled light beckoning within the trees. All of my paintings so far have carried these moments, these memories, this healing and I imagine will continue to do so.

I'll be sharing more of the paintings, but also more of the person behind them on instagram and here, and on my blog— the places I go, what I'm looking for, the things I'm thinking about, and perhaps some more of the story that has brought me here. I realise its important for those that engage with the paintings to understand the full story, even if that makes me feel vulnerable sometimes, but it is undeniably a vast part of my journey.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be loading some of these pieces directly on to my website. They will all be available to purchase. I will send my subscribers a heads up, so that you can can view them first and maybe find something you might like. Do sign up to the newsletter if you haven't already done so.

Please forgive me if this blog isn’t as polished as I’d like, but its hard sometimes to share the heart of you.

Thank you as always for your interest, your support and your friendship.

There is much more coming, times of transition and growth, a path splattered with paint, love, pawprints, a little wistful sometimes, but at its core real joy.

Claire x

CLAIRE HOWLETT

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Contact: +44 07721 579 259
Instagram: @clairehowlettart