friday focus - claire richards, children's artist

Today marks the return of "Friday Focus" after a longer than anticipated hiatus. I am excited to feature local Adelaide artist Claire Richards, who specialises in producing children's artwork. Bright, beautiful and often quirky, Claire's products include greeting cards, handmade toys, and portraits. She has also illustrated a number of children's books and was commissioned last Christmas to create the Christmas banners along Jetty Road at Glenelg.

How would you describe your artwork and how did you get started?
I illustrate picture books and quirky greeting cards. I try and put a little bit of humour in all of my artworks. My favourite card I have made says ‘Jack ran out of presents so he gave his brother the neighbour's cat.’ I like making hand made things and telling little stories in my paintings. I enjoy painting portraits.

I started by studying art at TAFE for three years. I wasn’t sure what medium I wanted to do and it was fantastic because I could try a bit of everything - photography, print making, pottery and digital art. I still use clay to make models to draw from. I kept doodling little stories in the back of my art journals. At the end of my studies I had a little exhibition of my cartoons about children and funny looking pets.

When and why did you launch your business?
I launched the business in 2005 because I wanted to share my stories. It gave me the opportunity to develop my style and experiment with paintings. It has led to working on creative projects such as collaborative murals.

What do you enjoy most about being a children’s artist?
I can read picture books and watch Shaun the Sheep as ‘research.’ I really like seeing children’s reactions to my work.

Children are notoriously impatient – how do you manage to get them to sit for portraits?

I make sure they can see what I am doing. Some children like to watch as I paint them. Children are good at observing details and often remind me ‘don’t forget there are pink AND purple stripes on my socks’. Others stay still because their parents have bribed them with food or are jumping up and down and juggling. Because my style is quite loose, it is actually fine for children to be running around while I paint them. 

Where do you work?
I work from a home studio in the garden. This is great because I don’t have to pack everything up each time I make a creative mess. I am quite proud I have built a light table, a rack for drying paintings and use an old cutlery draw to organiser my brushes and pencils.

What do you love about living in Adelaide as an artist?
I like living in Australia because our animals are fantastic for drawing - you can’t find any part of them that is not completely strange! I like working in Adelaide because we have some great little galleries and bookshops. I don’t know if it’s because we are kind of small, but I have found people are very encouraging of young artists.

Where do you find inspiration?
I like spending time in the children’s section of the library. I always feel compelled to create when I come home from looking at an art gallery.

What is your favourite children’s book?
My favourite book for this week is "Dairy of a Wombat" by Jackie French, illustrated by Bruce Whatley. There are lots of picture books I love to read over and over.

Where can we buy your products from?
I have artworks at a couple of galleries including Urban Cow on Frome Road in the city and Gallery M at Marion. I have cards in a few shops including the Ivy Room at Glenelg and Out of the Cot at Magill.

To contact Claire and view more of her work, visit her website:

http://clairerichards.com.au/

Images courtesy of Claire Richards