Artist Clare captures scenes from Whitby to New York

Her distinctive style pays attention to detail and use of colour in a quirky, captivating way. Cities and towns across the world come alive through her pens, pencils and brushes - gondolas on Venice’s Grand Canal, Prague’s iconic red trams, the primary-coloured houses of Reykjavik.

Closer to her home in the World Heritage Site of Saltaire, the artist and printmaker has focused on some of the Yorkshire region’s best-loved landscapes and buildings - the huddle of red roofed cottages that spill down to the sea in Staithes, Harrogate’s unusual pump room, and the harbourside at Robin Hood’s Bay.

And, on the doorstep of her studio, she has painted Salts Mill and the patchwork of allotments in its shadow.

Inspired by her travels, Clare has translated these familiar landscapes into paintings, prints, art cards and other works.

Growing up in Bradford, her love of art began at an early age. “I loved drawing as a child and that has never left me,” she says. “The early work of artist Stephen Wiltshire is a big inspiration. The architectural line drawings he produced during his childhood, of London and Paris, have a very loose and fluid quality. They’re very beautiful and expressive.”

After a foundation course in Art and Design at Bradford College, Clare went on to Staffordshire University, graduating with first class honours in design:surface pattern.

She has always been fascinated by architecture. “Be it the jumble of apartments, storefronts and skyscrapers in Manhattan or the elegant splendor of Venice and its canals, or simply capturing Parisian life outside a brightly canopied pavement café.

“I love the detail and structure of buildings, the repetition and pattern to be found within their design,” she says. “I closely study their detail and character but when I begin to draw, they almost seem to take on an identity of their own as I interpret them in my own style.”

During Clare’s final year at university, she won a trip to Venice as a result of a drawing project and decided to use it as the focus for her year-end show.

“The Venetian buildings were a huge inspiration. I developed my drawing style during that time and it pushed me into a new way of working.”

She adds: “Venice is a very special city for me as it's where my passion for drawing architecture began. It's such a beautiful city, there is nowhere quite like it. Both New York and Paris follow closely.

“I love the challenge of trying to capture the life and vibrancy of big cities. The feeling of bewilderment and the unknown when you arrive in a new place, then gradually getting into the flow and seeing the patterns and energy of life. These are the things that excite me and which I hope to get across in my work.”

Some types of architecture are more difficult to capture than others.

“It’s about my reaction to a place. If I love a location and respond emotionally to it, then my work flows naturally,” she says.

Clare also hand-paints sheets of paper using watercolour washes and also uses old sheet music or old books.

“I cut these into various shapes and sizes in order to depict the scene; a patchwork of rooftops, chimney pots or coloured lettering behind a Manhattan diner sign. It takes hours to carefully arrange the cut-out fragments and tiny pieces of paper, and only when it is finally pulled through the etching press is the colour bonded to the paper and the finished print revealed.

“It’s exciting and unpredictable process which produces very limited editions. I often hand-finish these prints with watercolour and coloured pencil making each piece unique and handcrafted.”

Clare works in a variety of media including watercolour, acrylic and collage.

“Drawing and linework feature heavily in my work. I use graphite pencils, dip pen and ink, coloured pencils, and pastel, and I wouldn’t be without my brown sketching pens. They suit my drawing style, allowing me to make quick lively marks. They are waterproof so I can add washes of watercolour over the top.”

She specialised in screen-printing during her degree and is a member at West Yorkshire Print Workshop in Mirfield.

“Screenprinting allows me to transfer the lively sketchbook drawings produced whilst on location onto both paper and canvas enabling my prints to maintain a sense of spontaneity,” she says. Clare runs screenprinting courses on which she shares her expertise.

Saltaire is, she says, the perfect place for her studio. “It’s home to many creative folk, art galleries and vintage shops. The village is known for its Victorian architecture which I have drawn many times – my surroundings are a big inspiration for my work so this makes me feel at home.

Clare met her partner Nick Tankard, a book illustrator and artist, at Salts mill, where he works part time in the 1853 Gallery. They have exhibited together on a number of occasions. “Our techniques are very different but we both share a passion for travel and art,” says Clare.

Her work has been used to illustrate books on different cities: ‘Everyone Loves Paris’ was a collection of Paris-themed illustrations by artists from all over the world. Its success led to her being asked to work on the follow up, ‘Everyone Loves New York’, which features Clare’s Statue of Liberty painting on the cover.

The US-based publisher TeNeues also produced notecards depicting five of her most popular NYC images including The Flatiron Building, Brooklyn Bridge and Skaters in Central Park. “Their stationery is distributed all over the world so this has been a great opportunity to get my work seen by a wide audience,” she says.

Last year Clare was excited to work on a T-shirt collaboration with menswear label C.P. Company in Japan.

“They produced two of my images on T-shirts as part of their summer 2017 collection, featuring exclusive designs of Venice and New York.

“They were keen to promote the artist and displayed a large panel depicting my painting of the Flatiron Building in three of their shop windows in Tokyo. “This was a fantastic opportunity to get my work seen in a city I would love to visit and draw.

“I only create work based on places I have visited. Being immersed in a new city is important as I can get a true feel for the place which will hopefully show in the finished piece. I use my sketchbook and camera to record and capture my ideas, which I develop in my studio.”

“I have a long list of places I’d love to draw. It’s great to see people's reactions as they view my paintings, my interpretations of the cities I draw seem to capture a moment which they themselves can relate to.”

Clare exhibits at Heart Gallery in Hebden Bridge. “It is a fantastic space in a lovely location and they have been a great supporter of my artwork,” she says.

Her newest stockist is The Yorkshire Gallery at the recently reopened Piece Hall in Halifax. “They have asked me to paint The Piece Hall which I’m really looked forward to.”

In July her work can be seen at Bertie’s of Bay in Robin Hoods Bay, where she is showing her city prints alongside images of Yorkshire’s coastal towns: Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay and Staithes.

She will also be exhibiting at The Old School in Muker in the Yorkshire Dales. This mixed show, from March 30 to May 13, will focus on the East Yorkshire coast.

*W: clarecaulfield.co.uk. Also visit etsy.com/shop/ClareCaulfield