We are delighted to have received new art works from Norfolk-based painter Claire Oxley. This week we sat down with Claire to discuss the inspiration behind her works and her favourite spots in Norfolk, as well as what advice she would give to someone looking to invest in a piece of art. 

What does a typical day look like for you?

As many creative people who work independently from others might say – there really isn’t a typical day. But what might be surprising to some is the number of 'things-that-aren’t-painting' that need to be done, such as talking to clients and galleries, painting frames, and the getting works from A to B. The latter is actually quite creative in itself: driving across the countryside can yield new ideas, and I often stop to take photographs. However, if I have an uninterrupted few days, I prefer to paint in the morning and evening/late at night. Time really flies when I am on my own, doing this.

What is the story/ inspiration behind your art?

I spent my school years in Norfolk, and returned about six years ago, having worked in Lancashire and Surrey. I really missed the landscape of East Anglia – there’s nothing quite like it. The skies are important, of course – but there is something about the shifting seasons and agricultural influence, too, that fascinates me endlessly. That’s my inspiration: the East Anglian landscapes – foliage, colours, fields, moons, skies, seas, and the shift between the different states of land, water, and ether.

What is most important to you in your artwork?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s… colour! Colour, first and foremost, followed by composition and mark-making. Colour does so much, expresses and ignites emotions, but also can create form. Shape and volume, by the change of tone or intensity, or give a feeling of depth and space depending on the saturation (that’s the amount of pure colour or grey in the hue – objects further away appear to be ‘greyer’ in colour) and they give energy.

I remember my first exhibition after the initial lockdown in 2020 – visitors to the gallery were walking in, almost being pulled to certain vibrant colours, and claiming when asked that they just really needed to see colour almost as a form of therapy

What do you find inspires your creativity?

I have a condition called synaesthesia. It took me a while to work out that as a child not everyone thinks of their friends and family members as colours, or structures music visually, but the experiences of my senses are often ‘crossed over’, and this is very exciting. Music inspires my art hugely.

I photograph landscapes in East Anglia a lot, and these form the basis for my works. Initially I have an idea for a piece, and start by layering paint, letting it dry between layers, usually keeping the colours very ‘clean’, but at a certain point I pay less attention to the starting point and let the painting tell me what it needs. This is often done without thinking too much about it, but responding to what’s going on. In this way, I don’t feel that I finish paintings as much as resolve – or balance – them.

We know much of your work is inspired by East Anglian landscapes, where is your favourite spot in Norfolk?

Oh, good question! I think that it might be the fields around the village where my parents live in New Buckenham. Perhaps this is because I spent a lot of my childhood there, walking the dog on my own, looking at the fields, trees and plants.

Which artists do you admire/ take inspiration from?

This is a hard question. I suspect that my work follows a tradition of Modernist painters such as Mattise, Van Gogh, Klee, Gilman (a distant relative), Diebenkorn, Nash and Ravillious, and the composer Ravel. Contemporary artists I am really enjoying on Instagram at the moment include Kate O’Grady, who recently had a wonderful show at the Fairhurst Gallery in Norwich, Chloe Lamb, Jemma Powell, and a collage artist called Hormazd Narielwalla, whose work I absolutely urge you to investigate (it’s very different to mine, but the colours are beautifully put together.)

What are you working on at the moment?

I am exhibiting at Art Fair East in St Andrew’s Hall in early December, and I am finishing a few works for that. They’re a bit looser in structure and application to my usual paintings, and I hope that visitors will enjoy the vivacity and movement in them.

I am also working towards a large solo exhibition in Ely, at Babylon Arts, which will open in April. Entitled A Folk Song Suite, it’s a series of works based on areas of East Anglia that have a musical connection (think Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Imogen Holst, Nick Drake); my master’s degree was in music, and I find that there is an interesting and engaging shared language between composition and the visual arts.

What advice would you give to someone who is looking to invest in a piece of artwork?

Aside from the “choose what you like” recommendation, which is undoubtedly very important, I would say to consider abstract or semi-abstract pieces. They can often have greater longevity of interest, simply because the viewer needs to do some of the work over time in looking. Don’t be afraid to mix styles and genres, you could have a very traditional-looking work in a contemporary setting and vice-versa. Go as big as you dare in the area as it draws the eye upwards and doesn’t ‘chop up’ the space. 

As an interiors brand, we’d love to hear about your own personal interiors style. Can you describe your home in a few words?

I’m going to cheat and offer an image instead! This painting still has the 1952 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition tag on the back. The colours in it have informed my whole house aesthetic.

What are your top three Birdie Fortescue picks?

Birdie knows that I am a big fan of her wonderful Peony fabric design, the Japanese- Influenced motifs are gorgeous. I also adore the rattan furniture, especially the colonial-style chairs and sofas – they pair well with so much. And lastly, my third top pick would be the range of Suzani throws, they have such impact, and would really lift any interior space.