Claire Harkess RSW RGI is widely regarded as a modern master of watercolour.
Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1993, she has spent the past 30 years studying and observing the natural world, capturing wildlife and their habitats with remarkable skill and sensitivity.
Elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) in 2005, Claire's reputation continued to grow internationally. In 2017, she was awarded the prestigious David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year in London, a globally recognised competition celebrating excellence in wildlife art.
Most recently, in 2023, she became a member of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI). What sets Claire apart is her relentless pursuit of innovation within the watercolour medium.
Beneath the apparent effortlessness of her delicate compositions lies an extraordinary depth of thought and technical complexity. Every element of her process is meticulously considered - paper selection, brushwork, pigment interaction, and the delicate balance between control and spontaneity.
Over the years, she has refined her approach through continuous experimentation, drawing inspiration from diverse materials and global painting traditions.
Claire's artistic journey has taken her to some of the most remote corners of the world, from Svalbard and the Galápagos Islands to the plains of Kenya. However, in recent years, her focus has shifted closer to home, immersing herself in the natural world on her doorstep.
Whether camping in a woodland hide, braving the elements in a national park, or observing life within an urban hedgerow, she dedicates herself fully to the experience. She spends hours - sometimes days - studying wildlife, sketching endlessly to capture fleeting moments of movement and light.
Many of her works are painted en plein air, allowing her brush to move instinctively with the environment, embracing the fluidity of watercolour as it interacts with the landscape.
Claire Harkess's work is a masterclass in restraint and precision, where the balance between subject and space is as vital as the brushstrokes themselves. Through her paintings, she invites us to see the world's wildlife with fresh eyes - intimate, fleeting, and profoundly beautiful.
watercolour and gold leaf
