From Paris to Newcastle to Wanstead, Bernie Clarkson now considers herself a local artist, with local scenes like Christ Church Green finding their way into her work
I’m totally passionate about painting and particularly oil painting, and this came about almost by accident. I was incredibly fortunate to live in Paris for four years in my fifties and this is where my life veered off at a totally unexpected tangent.
I’d always loved and made art of sorts, initially training as a fashion designer and then teaching art to lots of different age groups. However, my time in Paris freed me to take up painting, initially for fun, but very quickly it became all-consuming. So, when I returned to England, I was ecstatic to be accepted into Newcastle University’s Fine Art department. Six years later, with a hard-won degree and Master’s completed, I headed to London to be closer to family, not really believing my love affair with painting would continue and flourish. Yet, here I am in my shared studio in Manor Park, living and breathing this amazing subject.
After a few house moves and renovations, I’m so lucky to now have a home in beautiful Wanstead and I’m more than happy to think of myself as a local artist, taking part in solo and group exhibitions, and thrilled so many lovely people have bought my work.
My daily practice combines painting, stretching canvasses, reading and researching, always looking for inspiration; the north-east coastline is always hovering and influencing my subject and colour choices.
As each painting progresses, it can often change enormously, and when it’s finished, I hope it carries a quiet narrative to the viewer, but also willing a slight tension to make it interesting.
I love the work of the German-American artist Richard Diebenkorn, who was heavily influenced by Matisse, another great love of mine. I had a wonderful mentor at university who helped me so much to explore ideas and dig into history as inspiration, paint and painter, society, breaking rules; there’s always so much to learn.
As a consequence of living through the pandemic and the close proximity of a newly observed nature during the daily rituals of getting fresh air and exercise, I’m finding local and coastal scenes are nudging into most of my work; either as a background to a figure or taking centre stage.
To view more of Bernie’s artwork, visit wnstd.com/bernie
