Clare May Martin
Have you always been an artist?
I became an artist through the love of it as a child that never really stopped. I was always drawing and continued through the path of A Levels, a Foundation course and then through to fine art painting degree. In my head, on my foundation course, I was going to do a more practical degree. This was completely at odds of the work I was producing and more in line with the work that I was actively avoiding! Luckily my tutor, Jeff, quite accurately deduced that I would hate anything but a self directed fine art course. My degree was at Chelsea Art School, there you were expected to be an artist and not a student.
Given no direction, no projects to do and no practical group classes, we only had a wall and access to amazing tutors. You were encouraged to develop your own ideas, theories and to constantly question yourself. Everything that I did, from the discussions, lectures, group crits all became the solid foundation for my approach to my art today.
The reality of money took over and I had a career that I immensely enjoyed in fashion sales. Despite still painting when I couldn’t shift the feeling that I was missing out. A few years back I took the plunge and joined Wimbledon art studios and I love it.
What ideas are you exploring through your work?
1.Paint as the subject itself - I use paint to create the image but paint is the end image
2. Immediacy of emotion - to connect with the viewer, I don’t direct the emotion of the work in an obvious way, the emotion that the viewer experiences is their own and often can be surprising
3. Immediacy of making, I want the painting to look like a snapshot of a moving image, a small part of a larger image we cannot see. The viewer in turn finds it difficult to see the thread of the beginning and the end of the work.
I like keeping that ambiguity, the viewer has less to figure out and can just absorb the work more.
What do you love about paint?
I have a love affair with paint. The tactile quality when thickly applied to the watered down layers allowing hints of colour to show. I love to mix paint, pour, dribble, throw, brush, smooth, layer and expose it. My preferred choice is the American brand Golden acrylics and the French brand Flashe. Both give me unlimited strong pigment and possibilities.
What is your process?
A collection of research informs my work rather than research into an individual piece. Looking and reading of artists, essays they have written, critical analysis are all in my work. Light bulb moments can happen when I am least expecting them, often by reading a text that is not directly linked to art. One example is my interest in ’Embodied Cognition’ the theory that human development is not only led my thought and thinking process but by the physical action of doing. This led me to look at how the brain process’s images, which looped me back to abstract impressionist and how they refer to painting with the subconscious and conscious and action painting.
This is all in my mind and things that I consider with my work. For technical ideas of applying paint nothing beats standing in front of a physical work. An example would be after seeing Morris Louis at the Met with other colourfield painters, I started to pour high pigment paint onto canvases of varying density. It is incredibly easy to get comfortable with your work but it is essential to be uncomfortable try new things to keep moving forward. By working on a number of canvases at the same time I can work fast despite the drying time. Normally I work on a large canvas, smaller canvas and paper all at the same time jigsawing them into the studio. My only constraint is room, a large warehouse or barn would be a perfect fit!
How has your work evolved over the years?
Abstraction came by the way of painting the natural world. By the end of my foundation course I was painting large dense abstracts on MDF whilst in the garden. The surface let me play with the paint , these works sparked my interest in what paint could do itself not just what it could represent. Over the first couple of weeks in art school, I produced 3 large canvases based on a conker. My brilliant luck gave me Chris Offili as my tutor that day. After he assumed that they were purely abstract I told him that the humble conker had been the inspiration, Offili suggested that I was hiding behind the conker being the inspiration as I couldn’t explain what my paintings were or how I was producing them. This was a key moment for me and that I had to analyse and go deeper to what I was doing instinctively when painting, to understand the process and my interest and what I wanted to explore From that lesson onwards I only painted from myself. Whilst researching abstraction through the European history of art I was struggling to align myself. With some humour that I had not found them yet a tutor pointed in the direction of Abstract Expressionism and bingo!
I try not to box myself in with predetermined styles or get comfortable in my work. To keep my conversation with abstraction alive, relevant and not stuck, I try different mark making, painting techniques, brushes, objects, compositions and look to other artist for inspiration.
What is your favourite quote?
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way - things I had no words for” - Georgia O’Keeffe
Which art gallery do you never tire of visiting and what is your favourite artwork in their collection?
Tate Britain - Rothko Room - Basically a meditation room - the paintings feel as if they are vibrating and alive inducing not only a visual but a physical response, the gold standard.
Which artists do you enjoy at the moment?
This changes each week as there are so many to look at, it’s hard to keep up! I have chosen these three especially for their strong use of colour @san_starling @yazuaki_kuroda @jessicamatier
What is the most memorable thing someone has said about your work?
“Normally I don’t like abstract art, but I like yours” Said by many I think people avoid abstract art as they feel it’s something you’re supposed to have an academic artist knowledge of to ‘get it’. When physically faced with the work they have a different reaction and they are drawn into it. The viewers own emotion, instinct and memories drive their reaction.
See more of Claire: http://clare-may-martin.co.uk