Meet Claire Watkins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Watkins.

Claire, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been painting and drawing since I was a kid, but it wasn’t until high school that I knew I had to pursue it as a career. My style and medium of art-making has evolved drastically over time, but over the past four years at the University of North Texas, I’ve learned so much about my work and the direction I hope to take it in.

I’ll be receiving my BFA in Drawing & Painting this fall, and no matter what odd jobs come out of it, I’ll still be painting or drawing daily. In most of my work lately, I use found materials. I paint on old wooden furniture parts that mimic the traditional wood panel, or I’ll source old street paint, spray paint, or house paint.

The process of finding these pieces is important in deciding the color palette, and what shapes or text I’ll use in the artwork. The old materials I source feel nostalgic and relatable to me, and I let that uncover the history of my paintings.

My work now speaks much to the experience of childhood and the idea that we never fully grow up or fully grasp the human experience. My use of old furniture and bright colors have continued to reference that idea, and I plan to keep exploring it through my adulthood.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve struggled with generalized anxiety for the entirety of my young adult life, but I’ve turned that part of myself into my reason for making art.

I write on a large portion of my work, almost using it as my public diary, which tends to alleviate the emotional discourse I’m feeling at the time. I’ve found that writing feelings out and publicly displaying them is incredibly therapeutic.

I’ve come to a place with my art where it feels fully realized by an audience; the emotions of nostalgia and anxiety about the future and the present can be relatable to anyone, and making art has made me feel much less alone in that sense.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
In most of my work, I reference childlike imagery to explore the human condition. My experimentation with text and color references learning as a child: we learn endlessly through life and find ourselves in a constant cycle of mastery and naivety. I typically am drawn to bright and nostalgic material, such as old painted furniture.

I am very concerned with mark making and the sometimes obsessive nature of line-work using charcoal and pastels; I’ve found this material adds tactility to the organic surface of wood which I use almost exclusively. The clumsy lines and shapes that I’m drawn to typically read as childlike, which further emphasizes the sense of wonder and curiosity I treat my art and life with.

When I’m not working on paintings, I’m usually making pastel drawings or screen printing t-shirts along the same theme of my work. My drawings typically include bright, bulbous shapes and play of text. Lately, I’ve been pulling inspiration from children’s books, such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Lois Ehlert and Eric Carle’s books.

I’m always proud to share my work with the public, getting to exhibit in galleries or vend at an art show is SO gratifying. The opportunity to be around incredible artists is one of the things I love most about being a creator.

There is an amazing artistic community in the Dallas and Denton area, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it and collaborate with people around here. Being a student at UNT and working in the Dallas area has opened so many doors for me, and I’m so excited to continue to grow and create work in this community.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This past January I got to show my paintings alongside a couple of extremely talented fashion designers, Lauren Grey and Marina Girgis, at The University of North Texas’ Union gallery space.

Collaborating with people I look up to and admire gets me so excited, and it was even cooler that we got to curate the whole thing together.

We were able to get three Dallas publications out to the show, and that felt really successful. I was definitely proud of that moment, but I have a lot of exciting projects in the near future that I’m anticipating even more.

Contact Info:

• Website: rascaletti.com
• Email: rascaletti@gmail.com
• Instagram: @rascaletti

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