Purchasing Artwork

Serious enquiries can be made direct to my studio by email please. I can provide much helpful information this way, in terms of pricing, detailed photos, media and range of availability, before you commit to an in person viewing. There is absolutely no obligation to buy and it’s always a pleasure to show someone my work.

I am also represented by Hope Gallery in Hebden Bridge, and a range of works can be viewed in their beautiful gallery setting, and purchased from there.

International enquiries can be made directly to my studio or via my promoter, Max Laniado in New York.

Claire Murray | MA Fine Art | BA Fine Art (Painting) | PGCert Surface Pattern (Dist) | PGCE Art & Design

Dean Clough Mills, Halifax, UK

At university during my undergraduate degree, I was heavily influenced by the Abstract Expressionists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Wassily Kandinsky and Willem Da Kooning, and the British poet Ted Hughes.  These artists, and the work of Peter Lanyon and Graeme Sutherland, have stayed with me throughout my own development as a contemporary artist in the UK.  During my MA in Fine Art, I explored more conceptual and mixed media forms, such as installation, photography and film, before returning to painting later.

 My paintings are essentially about the world around me, and are an attempt to understand the systems and natural order of our existence.  I am inspired by the landscape, its geography, topography, light, colour, texture and sense of place and space.  As a visual artist, the physical natural environment gives me such a lot of visual stimuli to work with, and feeds my mental and imaginative landscapes to the point that I never work to ‘represent’ a place, but perhaps try instead to ‘inhabit’ that space within a painting.  

I observe, think, read and watch, but the way I approach a painting is instinctive and process driven, working through a piece layer by layer, until the painting reveals itself to me.  The substrate I begin with, always helps me form the initial marks, and so leads the process – a hard wooden surface is resistant and perfect for collage, texture and crisp line; a soft, smooth canvas perfect for thin, pouring applications and more careful brushwork.  

So, my starting points vary, depending on the surface, and the process develops with each thin, thick, translucent or opaque layer.  Often, the paint is applied, and is scraped back to reveal stains, remains of colour layer over one another, and creating much more depth of colour.  I spray, wipe, smudge and transfer, and paint some more.  I was uncertain of colour for a long time, but through many explorations, my understanding of colour has grown considerably, and I take much care to mix up my colours on my palette, (rather than use them straight from the tube).  

 The physicality of the paint has always fascinated me, and I often use collage and non-traditional art materials in the creative process to prepare interesting surface texture on my canvas (I was known to use bitumen and other toxic materials as an undergraduate, which I baulk at now).  I often let gravity, and perhaps the laws of physics, be part of the process – allowing the paint to puddle, drip, splash and blend on its own, but with guidance from me as I carefully choose the paint colour, consistency and composition.  I prop up the painting for drips to move the paint, or work on the floor, allowing puddles to form, merge and blend.  Working on the floor also allows me a real sense of freedom from being stuck in a conventional composition with a top, middle and bottom, and the ability to walk round and around a piece, seeing it from all angles.  This way, the composition stays balanced and even, but is always much more exciting and dynamic.  There are often strong contrasts in my paintings – such as light and dark values, soft and hard edges, smooth and textured areas, colour opposites that are at once harmonious and surprising.

I would also consider myself a painter who draws, as almost every piece contains some form of line which contrasts with the paint: thin, spindly lines in crayon, paint or etched into the surface, to somehow unify my composition, suggesting energy or perhaps a form of scarring the surface.

The vertiginous nature of a lot of my paintings suggests some sort of treacherous path along a steep ridge, at once beautiful and dangerous, risky and rugged, and teetering somewhere between safety and peril.  How easy it might be to, literally, tumble down the hill-side; falling, being a recurring ‘fear’ dream of mine as a child.  I am interested in the balance between representation and abstract expression, where the representational landscape that is inherent, begins to shift towards more abstract concepts concerning energy, light and space, and indeed our place in the universe and our relationship with it.  

There is no attempt to recreate a perfect ‘scene’, but to convey textures, colour palette and light of exterior (and sometimes interior) spaces we all recognise, remember or imagine.  I explore ideas of exposure and sanctuary, the idea that the landscape is at once beautiful, safe, romantic and soft, but also treacherous, sinister and often dangerous.   Dangerous conditions masquerading as beauty.  The elements: water, earth, air and sky are present in almost all of the pieces, suggesting a natural order, balance, drama and fragility of our environment.  

Consider my website a gallery to browse my portfolio, a place to look at my paintings. A painting can be enquired about, by contacting me directly by email, and I can arrange private viewings to see more of my collection. In lieu of exhibiting and seeing my work up close and personal, I am able to conduct studio tours via Zoom for anyone interested in seeing my work and finding out more. Please make contact via email for more information.

On a very personal note, I was shocked to discover that I had developed lung cancer in early 2023, and have recently had a period where I recovered from major surgery and am coming to terms with the challenges I now face in my life. Presently, I am more focussed than ever, and I feel invigorated, full of energy and ideas, and I am eager to get on with art and life. This is my rainy day and I am making the most of it.

Interview September 2023 - The Comfortable Spot

Memberships - Yorkshire Arts, VAA Visual Arts Association.

Artwork in Private Collections

My paintings are owned by collectors and private buyers internationally. I sell in the UK and internationally, and have pieces in private collections in Northern Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Spain, and across the USA.