Artist's Statement
Clare graduated in Fine Art, BA with First Class Honours, from Arts University Bournemouth.
She specialises in contemporary expressionist painting: working primarily with oils and depending heavily on use of colour and gesture, with ideas often inspired by cultural references.
Her work flits between figurative and abstract. Abstraction can express the overlooked and invisible elements in life, art, and society. Themes drawn from both contemporary and art historical issues are considered from the perspective of both painter and painted.
Inspiration can come from classical works - how these can be revisited in the light of changing values about the world of artists themselves, as well as their subjects, or from other art forms such as literature and cinema.
Key influences include contemporary artists Cecily Brown, Rita Ackermann, Jennifer Pochinski, and the legacy of painters at the centre of modernist and expressionist painting development, including Cezanne, Soutine, DeKooning, Joan Mitchell, Richard Diebenkorn, Paul Wonner, David Park and the San Francisco Bay Area Expressionist Movement.
A love and fascination of how paint can create marks, layers and texture that combine its unpredictability with physical manipulation underpins Clare’s treatment of figures and their relationship with the environment and landscape.
Clare Hawkes Fine Art, Workshop 2, Abbey Farm, Church Street, Abbotsbury, Dorset, DT3 4JJ
Contemporary Expressionist Painting inspired by colour, gesture and cultural references
Supplementary Information for 'Bind' Exhibition at The Sherborne:
1st March 2025 - 27th April 2025
By way of further background detail I have put together some of my thinking behind the works which I hope will enhance your visit. Do feel free to email me on [email protected] if you have any questions, or visit me at my studio in Abbotsbury which is adjacent to the Tithe Barn DT3 4JJ. (closed days are Monday and Wednesday)
Levelling Up Part 2
Oil paint on plywood board in hand painted tulip wood frame
87 cm x 62 cm
Part of my 2024 ‘Levelling Up’ series, inspired by the West Dorset landscape, its undulations a metaphor for inequalities in society and wealth. Here the lone figure gazes into the distance, contemplating perhaps his/her role in society, the workplace or the hierarchy of land ownership.
The title reference is to the contemporary issues of both class and geography: north v south, rural v urban that is socially divisive in the current economic climate. This piece also takes inspiration from Georges Seurat (1859 - 1891): his 19th century paintings of people relaxing on the banks of the Seine with smoke from the Parisian factories rising in the distance.
see other paintings in the series here: https://www.clarehawkes.com/levelling-up-series-2024.html
Fast Fashion
Oil paint on Clairefontaine paper in hand painted tulip wood frame, archival mount and UV70 glass
77 cm x 48 cm
Inspired by the late 19th and early 20th century works of Edouard Vouillard (1868 - 1940) who famously painted his mother and sister, both seamstresses, disappearing into the colours and patterns of their interior textiles and decorations. My work draws a parallel with the current issues of the contemporary fashion industry: people working long hours indoors, often in cramped conditions without seeing the light of day, to service its fast moving consumer trends and demands.
Three Ladies at The Alhambra
Oil paint on Clairefontaine paper in hand painted tulip wood frame, archival mount and UV70 glass
81 cm x 60 cm
Twenty First century professional ladies stroll confidently past the Moorish Islamic architecture of the famous Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Inspired by a holiday photograph, it takes a contemporary look at a piece of cultural history, once the largest aristocratic and political centre of the Muslim West, now one of the most visited tourist attractions in Spain.
Kitchen Sink Drama Parts 1 and 2
Oil paint on plywood board in bespoke hand painted tray frame
31 cm x 36 cm
Inspired by the eponymous Cultural Realism movement in British art, drama and literature in the 1950's and 60's. Films such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' 1960, based on the 1958 novel by Alan Sillitoe, John Braine's 'Room at The Top' 1957 and of course John Osborne's ground breaking 1956 drama 'Look Back in Anger' that all portrayed working class lives and opened the way for TV soaps.
Make Hay
Oil paint on plywood board in bespoke hand painted tray frame
36 cm x 31 cm
The simple idea that we should make the most of our opportunities while we have the chance.
Part of a set of works developed from plein air sessions with Dorset Colourists, a small subgroup of the Dorset Visual Arts, all having a common interest in the use of colour across diverse mediums and practices.
The group has further sessions arranged and members are planning a joint exhibition in 2026, late June/early July so will be after Dorset Art Weeks (confirmed as 23rd May to 7th June 2026).
Clare Hawkes Fine Art, Workshop 2, Abbey Farm, Church Street, Abbotsbury, Dorset, DT3 4JJ
Contemporary Expressionist Painting inspired by colour, gesture and cultural references
Clare graduated in Fine Art, BA with First Class Honours, from Arts University Bournemouth.
She specialises in contemporary expressionist painting: working primarily with oils and depending heavily on use of colour and gesture, with ideas often inspired by cultural references.
Her work flits between figurative and abstract. Abstraction can express the overlooked and invisible elements in life, art, and society. Themes drawn from both contemporary and art historical issues are considered from the perspective of both painter and painted.
Inspiration can come from classical works - how these can be revisited in the light of changing values about the world of artists themselves, as well as their subjects, or from other art forms such as literature and cinema.
Key influences include contemporary artists Cecily Brown, Rita Ackermann, Jennifer Pochinski, and the legacy of painters at the centre of modernist and expressionist painting development, including Cezanne, Soutine, DeKooning, Joan Mitchell, Richard Diebenkorn, Paul Wonner, David Park and the San Francisco Bay Area Expressionist Movement.
A love and fascination of how paint can create marks, layers and texture that combine its unpredictability with physical manipulation underpins Clare’s treatment of figures and their relationship with the environment and landscape.
Clare Hawkes Fine Art, Workshop 2, Abbey Farm, Church Street, Abbotsbury, Dorset, DT3 4JJ
Contemporary Expressionist Painting inspired by colour, gesture and cultural references
Supplementary Information for 'Bind' Exhibition at The Sherborne:
1st March 2025 - 27th April 2025
By way of further background detail I have put together some of my thinking behind the works which I hope will enhance your visit. Do feel free to email me on [email protected] if you have any questions, or visit me at my studio in Abbotsbury which is adjacent to the Tithe Barn DT3 4JJ. (closed days are Monday and Wednesday)
Levelling Up Part 2
Oil paint on plywood board in hand painted tulip wood frame
87 cm x 62 cm
Part of my 2024 ‘Levelling Up’ series, inspired by the West Dorset landscape, its undulations a metaphor for inequalities in society and wealth. Here the lone figure gazes into the distance, contemplating perhaps his/her role in society, the workplace or the hierarchy of land ownership.
The title reference is to the contemporary issues of both class and geography: north v south, rural v urban that is socially divisive in the current economic climate. This piece also takes inspiration from Georges Seurat (1859 - 1891): his 19th century paintings of people relaxing on the banks of the Seine with smoke from the Parisian factories rising in the distance.
see other paintings in the series here: https://www.clarehawkes.com/levelling-up-series-2024.html
Fast Fashion
Oil paint on Clairefontaine paper in hand painted tulip wood frame, archival mount and UV70 glass
77 cm x 48 cm
Inspired by the late 19th and early 20th century works of Edouard Vouillard (1868 - 1940) who famously painted his mother and sister, both seamstresses, disappearing into the colours and patterns of their interior textiles and decorations. My work draws a parallel with the current issues of the contemporary fashion industry: people working long hours indoors, often in cramped conditions without seeing the light of day, to service its fast moving consumer trends and demands.
Three Ladies at The Alhambra
Oil paint on Clairefontaine paper in hand painted tulip wood frame, archival mount and UV70 glass
81 cm x 60 cm
Twenty First century professional ladies stroll confidently past the Moorish Islamic architecture of the famous Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Inspired by a holiday photograph, it takes a contemporary look at a piece of cultural history, once the largest aristocratic and political centre of the Muslim West, now one of the most visited tourist attractions in Spain.
Kitchen Sink Drama Parts 1 and 2
Oil paint on plywood board in bespoke hand painted tray frame
31 cm x 36 cm
Inspired by the eponymous Cultural Realism movement in British art, drama and literature in the 1950's and 60's. Films such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' 1960, based on the 1958 novel by Alan Sillitoe, John Braine's 'Room at The Top' 1957 and of course John Osborne's ground breaking 1956 drama 'Look Back in Anger' that all portrayed working class lives and opened the way for TV soaps.
Make Hay
Oil paint on plywood board in bespoke hand painted tray frame
36 cm x 31 cm
The simple idea that we should make the most of our opportunities while we have the chance.
Part of a set of works developed from plein air sessions with Dorset Colourists, a small subgroup of the Dorset Visual Arts, all having a common interest in the use of colour across diverse mediums and practices.
The group has further sessions arranged and members are planning a joint exhibition in 2026, late June/early July so will be after Dorset Art Weeks (confirmed as 23rd May to 7th June 2026).
Clare Hawkes Fine Art, Workshop 2, Abbey Farm, Church Street, Abbotsbury, Dorset, DT3 4JJ
Contemporary Expressionist Painting inspired by colour, gesture and cultural references