Claire Yates

Biography

I am a pastel artist living in Spain specialising in animal and pet portrait commissions. I was born into an artistic family on the 9th of February 1973 and raised in West Bromwich, near Birmingham and have had a keen interest in art from since I could hold a pencil. I have a BA (Hons) in Printed Textile Design and hold a National Diploma in General Art & Design. I now reside in Spain but am still an active member and website assistant of The Association of Animal Artists UK. A member of The Pastel Guild of Europe and I regularly participate in various competitions with Art and Color 365 Magazine. In the past I was a member of The Birmingham Watercolour Society, Wolverhampton Society of Artists and Worcester Society of Artists. My paintings are illustrative and observed and I tend to paint things that really interest me. My favourite subject is of course animals. I absolutely love working on the eyes and the fur. In the past I've done a lot of fruit paintings and rust paintings. I look at things , obsessively of how and what they are. I'm hoping that with every piece of art that I produce I get better. Even though I have been drawing since I was little, I have never felt confident with my art and am always striving towards that perfect painting. Hopefully that day will never arrive as it keeps me on my toes to work harder and gain more skill. My favourite medium is pastel and pastel pencil on Clairefontaine Pastelmat Paper. Using these products I feel I can achieve a more vibrant colour to my paintings. And working on animals with pastel, one can achieve a softness to the fur. I have won various awards: Finalist in the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the year 2022 Finalist in The SAA Artists of the Year 2024 Finalist in The Sketch for Survival 2024 3rd place in the Art and color 365 2024 Pastels Competition 2nd place in The Gillian Turner Aldridge Prize, Birmingham Watercolour Society 2021