Clare McIntyre

Clare McIntyre is a classically-trained artist and designer who lives in Toronto. The daughter of a professional singer, Clare spent her life around creative energy and the arts. Her combined talents in painting and interior design give her work a unique style that is centred around sensory observations. She invites the viewer into a world where they may get the sense of a slight breeze, the warmth of dappled sunlight, or notice the tactility of a smooth, damp leaf. Clare adds her own touch to realism by incorporating brushstrokes that give her art a sense of movement. She is particularly drawn to florals because the subject gives her an opportunity to bring things to life by exaggerating objects and using colour to play with light, depth, and transparency. Clare loves working with solvent-free oil paint, watercolour and gouache, and has recently taken an interest in experimenting on nonstandard papers and other substrates. Clare believes in using natural materials as much as possible when she works, and feels there is a strong connection between materials and subject matter.

You will see the influence of 19th and 20th century British and French design in Clare’s work. Time spent living in London informed much of her style, inspiring her to take a bold approach to colours and patterns. Clare’s love of antique textiles is an extension of her fascination with the story of used, found objects and the opportunity to give them a second life. Clare began honing her craft as a youth, taking courses at the Art Gallery of Ontario and continued her education as a young adult, earning a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. When Clare went back to school at Sheridan College for a degree in interior design, she found that she could bring artistry to the spaces she designed through impactful focal points and features. Clare now uses this background to design fabric and wallpaper for residential interiors.

When she isn’t painting in her home studio, she can be found exploring different corners of Toronto, collecting wildflowers with her daughters for their next project, or hunting for vintage picture frames.

Artist Statement:

I am fascinated with the way patterns occur in nature, and the visual analogies that can be seen at vastly different scales. Massive clusters of stars in the galaxy can appear like microscopic groupings of cells. There is beauty in the inherent imperfections in these living patterns. I am drawn to unbounded and uncontrolled nature that bursts with life, and exists on a continuum that is infinite and complex. My paintings come from deep observation and they appear to expand beyond the edges of the canvas. I hone in on textures and colours that reflect a broader surrounding environment. A sensory experience is conveyed through a sense of a slight breeze in a gestural brushstroke, the impression of warm, dappled sunlight, or the rendered tactility of a smooth, dewy leaf.

The natural materials I work with resonate with the subject matter in my paintings. I enjoy trying different, interesting papers to paint on like gold leaf and silk, and I always appreciate the solid durability of wood panels. Oil paint affords me the textural depth, richness and earthiness of colours that are found in nature.