Claire Wiltsher MA – “Lapwings at Dawn” Original signed acrylic and mixed media painting

Claire Wiltsher MA: Artist Biography

Claire Wiltsher is a New Forest based artist whose distinctive semi-abstract work has gained national recognition and acclaim. Born in Wales, she pursued her artistic training at Lancashire University, earning her BA (Hons) in Fine Art and Painting between 1986 and 1989. Her early promise was evident when she became a finalist in the Reader’s Digest Young Illustrators Competition in 1988, and she had already secured exhibitions before completing her degree.

Artistic Practice and Approach

Claire Wiltsher’s artistic practice combines oil and mixed media on canvas, layering paint with collage fragments to create depth and visual complexity. Her distinctive technique involves scratching through sections of paint to allow underlying colours to emerge, creating evocative landscapes that capture the essence of place and weather conditions. She employs various tools including brushes, palette knives of different sizes, and deliberately flicks or throws paint onto selected areas—evidence of this energetic process visible throughout her studio floor. Her canvases are predominantly square, a choice she considers essential for creating balance and harmony. Though her work contains ambiguous elements, it is characterized by strong structural compositions that demonstrate careful consideration of form and space.

Claire Wiltsher Education and Development

Following her undergraduate degree, Claire Wiltsher pursued further qualifications while establishing her professional career. She completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Further Education (Art & Design) at Thames University in 1990-1991 and later studied creative writing through a Writers News home study course, becoming a Radio 4 First Voice finalist with a published short story. She obtained her MA in Fine Art and Painting from Northumbria University between 1997 and 1999, completing this part-time while working as an Art Lecturer in Durham.

Career Achievements

Claire Wiltsher’s early career trajectory was impressive. Shortly after her degree, she exhibited in a touring exhibition with the prestigious Ikon Gallery Birmingham titled “Symbolism,” followed by a one-person show at Durham Museum and Gallery where most of her work sold. Art critic Edward Lucie-Smith selected her paintings for exhibition at Olympia International Fair, with sales enabling her to travel to Indonesia. Her achievements in competitions and exhibitions gained increasing attention, culminating in the Rosemary & Co Award from the Society of Women Artists in 2010 for her forest landscape “Winter Snowstorm.”

In 2011, the House of Lords Works of Art Committee selected two of her forest landscapes for acquisition into the House’s permanent collection, where they now hang in public areas and committee rooms at Millbank House. Her career expansion was remarkable: from two exhibitions in 2009, the number rose to thirteen in 2010 and twenty-one in 2011, establishing her as a highly successful artist.

Claire Wiltsher Philosophy and Inspiration

Wiltsher’s artistic philosophy centres on creating paintings that evoke emotional responses to landscape and environment. She believes that “total recognition inhibits the imagination,” encouraging viewers to bring their own interpretations to her work. Her primary inspirations derive from the outdoors, walking, and travelling. She frequently accompanies her paintings with poems that help communicate specific ideas and deepen engagement with her work.

By 2012, rising demand for her landscapes and seascapes led her to leave her part-time lecturing position and pursue art full-time as a professional artist. Her work continues to gain popularity with local and national galleries, with international exhibitions scheduled and representation through London galleries.

Related artists: Barry Peckham, Richard Tratt and Robert King

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