Clare Garrad

Clare Garrad’s practice is rooted in intuition, emotion, and sound. A lifelong music obsessive, she channels rhythm and lyric into paint, creating abstract works that are both deeply personal and universally resonant. Working primarily in acrylics on canvas, with occasional mixed media explorations in watercolour and ink, Clare builds compositions that balance frenetic energy with moments of quiet reflection.

Her journey into full‑time art began after a decade in London’s jewellery industry and a degree in Fashion Design. Reaching her forties and raising two children, Clare chose to leave office life behind and commit fully to her creativity. That leap unlocked a practice defined by honesty and resilience, paintings that capture the ebbs and flows of life, from tenderness to turbulence.

Rarely using traditional brushes, Clare favours palette knives, silicone shapers, fabric, and handmade tools to create vivid marks and layered textures. Each piece is mood‑led, guided by the emotional landscapes she inhabits and the music that helps her access them.

For Clare, painting is a way of making the intangible visible: feelings, identities, and moments distilled into colour and form. Her work invites audiences to connect, reflect, and find fragments of themselves within her canvases.