CLARE BLOIS
Clare lived and worked in some of the most beautiful parts of the Highlands for many years before studying with the Open College of the Arts (Art and Design 1990, Textiles 1992, Painting 1996). She began to exhibit her work in Scottish galleries, and in 2003 won the prestigious JD Fergusson Award, resulting in a major solo exhibition in Perth
.Clare spent ten years in the Western Isles, and the powerful island seascapes and skies of the Hebrides are enduring themes in her oil paintings, as are the gentler landscapes of the farm on the Black Isle, north of Inverness, where she now lives with her family and runs a gallery. Annual visits to southern France provide even more opportunity for painting "en plein air" and a chance to use a different palette.
"In the tradition of Scottish painters, I am inspired and driven by the physical qualities of oil paint, using it generously and energetically to create movement and texture in my work. Colour is of primary importance to me – the possibilities remain exciting and endless.
The extraordinary landscapes and seascapes of the highlands provide a wealth of material for my painting. The ever-changing weather, the rotating seasons and the astonishing forces of nature are a constant influence.
Over time my paintings have become more concerned with abstraction, and reflect the influence of my surroundings on my feelings on that particular day. I am pleased when the viewer finds that the painting relates to their own experience in a different way - it is very exciting when a work of art takes on a life of its own, leaving the artist free and impatient to move on to another!"
SUMMARY OF SELECTED EXHIBITIONS etc:
Eden Court, Inverness
Kilmorack Gallery, Beauly
2003 and 2004: Inverness City "Best Artist" Award (public vote)
2004: Fergusson Gallery, Perth, awarded solo exhibition
Highland Open (every two years)
Castle Gallery, Inverness
Inverness Airport
Affordable Art Fair, London
Glasgow Art Fair
Aberdeen Artists Exhibition
Edinburgh Contemporary Art Fair
Atholl Gallery, Dunkeld
Peacock Printers Gallery, Aberdeen
Strathearn Gallery, Crieff
Aberfeldy Gallery
Milton Gallery, Banchory
2007: Highlands Open Studios Exhibition (fine art prize)
2008: Mountains Festival Exhibition, Fort William
2008: (May) Resipole Studio Gallery, Ardnamurchan
2008: Greens & Blues Gallery, North Berwick
2008: (July) Solo Exhibition, Morven Gallery, Isle of Lewis
2008: (July) Jerdan Gallery, Crieff
2008: (July) Morningside Gallery, Edinburgh
2008: (August) Major Exhibition, Tore Art Gallery
2008: (September) Iona Gallery, Oxfordshire
2009: (Spring) Strathearn Gallery, Crieff (3 person exhibition)
2009: (Spring) Inverness Airport, with "An Ealainn"
Numerous charity and other exhibitions including Paintings in Hospitals, Highland Hospice, MacMillan etc.
Work normally available at Tore Art Gallery, Black Isle, Highlands
"Clare Blois is clearly in command of her medium and combines passion and technique in equal measure" (The Times)
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(4 inch canvasses)
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(sold)
(sold, Morven Gallery)
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(sold 2008)
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(archive, print available)_
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(collection of Fergusson Gallery, Perth.
print available)
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(Morven Gallery)
(sold)
