Claire Oliver is an artist who explores ‘the landscape of the mind’ through painting and poetry. Her concise poems and carefully constructed colour block paintings feel almost zen-like and meditative.
Her exhibition During Waking Hours runs from June 25th to July 1st 2023 at Compact Contemporary in Leeds, UK.
Can you tell us about your process in making your paintings? They appear to be very controlled and precise. How do you decide on the colours and what does your choice of shapes signify?
My latest works have been more controlled. My little landscape series which preceded this body of work was much more free. They were small 6×4 paintings that were made in stolen moments of time while raising my young son. Since he started school last September I have had more time to spend in the studio and have had to reevaluate where it is I’m going with my work.
It has been a time of contemplation, where I’ve been delving deep into why I make and what I want from my work in the future. I no longer need to work small but translating my small paintings into larger pieces didn’t work for me. I went through a long period of not making anything. I enrolled in a couple of courses to get me through the lull: one based on colour theory and another called The Seven Keys which began with an in-depth review of my art practice.
I began making my colour palette paintings at this time – simple grids of colour. This became a series of works that got me out of the proverbial rut and allowed me to enjoy the process of making again. I found my love of colour returned. However, as much as I loved making the colour palettes I did not see them as a long-term practice. They were a necessary means to an end. They allowed me to make while I contemplated what it was that I wanted to make.
Alongside the colour palette paintings, I also started drawing again. I began drawing found patterns in leaf litter, returning to a subject matter that had been my focus before motherhood. The freedom of visceral mark-making in contrast to the rigid meditative quality of painting allowed me to find a sweet spot allowing me to explore a need for both release and control.
My process begins with walking. I walk daily in the early hours when it is quiet. When I am walking I can handle silence, and thoughts flow freely. I will see colours I like in the landscape and patterns on the floor that I will photograph and use to draw from. I am most interested in the shapes I see in leaf litter, the patterns and lines formed and found by chance. They are temporary, fleeting formations made by the weather; and shifting often, they will change daily. I will walk past many but occasionally find what I think of as little bits of magic. They form the basis of drawings which I do on both paper and acetate so that I can enlarge them on to canvas.
I play with the positioning of the lines until I see a composition that works and then I paint, filling in the lines meticulously, losing myself in the process. Apart from decisions about colour that are made intuitively, there are no more decisions to make I can just enjoy the flow of colouring-in.
How did you become an artist? Please tell us about your journey so far.
I guess I became an artist the moment I was given a colouring book. Colouring-in was always my go-to activity as a child. I would lose myself in the process. I vividly remember drawing a horse, sitting at an old school desk I had in my bedroom, and thinking then “I want to be an artist”. It wasn’t and isn’t a straightforward trajectory however, and I’ve veered off down different paths along the way.
I went to University set on doing Fine Art but after my foundation year chose to do Graphic Design. At the end of my degree, my tutor said to me “Your portfolio looks like it was made by a frustrated artist” – he was right. I intended to go back to do a Fine Art MA but decided to take a year out and work. I ended up taking 5. I did an MA in Visual Art at Nottingham Trent which I enjoyed. But I didn’t find a way forward. In fact, My final piece was a giant word-search titled Searching for ME and only contained the letters to find YOU.
After my MA I went on to spend another 5 years in academia, doing a research project, then I got married and had our son. It was during this time that I considered what I wanted for my future and that I really wanted to follow my original dream to be an artist.
I’ve had moments of not believing in myself and have struggled to find my own voice as an artist until recently; but art has always been at my core and I’m excited to see what the future will bring now I can see a path forward.
Your exhibition During Waking Hours combines a number of paintings with short 8 word poems, which you have had printed onto small cards for visitors to take away. You have said that you write the poems ‘to download the inner noise’. When and where do you write the poems, and what is the outcome you are looking for?
I’ve always written poems as a way of getting thoughts out of my head and making sense of the world. They are a release of mental noise and internal chatter. Sometimes they are about moments I want to remember and sometimes moments I want to forget. It’s a way of processing and letting go. I started making these little 8-word poems as that’s about how many words will fit on an A3 piece of paper if I hand-paint the letters.
Again they are a way of processing [my thought] but in shorter bursts. It’s a challenge to fit what you want to say in such a small sentence. They come to me while out walking, or often just before I fall asleep. I’m not really sure what I want the outcome to be maybe just a calmer brain, maybe to connect. I know when I read or hear words that I connect with, it’s uplifting.
What influences your work?
I think too many things have influenced my work, to be honest. When you don’t have a clear sense of self, outside influences can be overwhelming. I spent a lot of time looking and experimenting with styles and ways of making before I found a way that suits me. For that, I needed to momentarily shut it all out. Now I can view other artists’ work with intrigue rather than thinking “I need to be doing that”.
Books that have resonated with me include The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Interaction of Colour by Joseph Albers and In The Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki.
The artists I adored early on and who made me want to paint were Mark Rothko and Ian McKeever and artists I have found more recently and revere are Kindah Khalidy, Kristin Texeira and Etel Adnan.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
The next chance to see my work in person will be at A Generous Space 3 at Huddersfield Art Gallery running from 15th July through to September. A curated exhibition of 100 artists who have taken part in The Artist’s Support Pledge. www.artistsupportpledge.com
For available work visit my website www.claireoliverart.com and follow my work in progress on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/claire_oliver_art/
During Waking Hours by Claire Oliver is open for drop in visitors on Saturday July 1st 2023 (12-3pm) 
Or by appointment (email mylittlehelen@yahoo.co.uk to make an appointment in advance). Visitors are most welcome during drop in hours, please ring the doorbell! (Outside of advertised hours please make an appointment.) Located at Spinning Mill Studios at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley, Leeds LS18 5UJ
Compact Contemporary is a micro gallery in a shed, in the studio of artist/curator Helen Dryden. Is is part of the Guild of Micro Galleries.
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