Claire’s Arctic adventure is captured in exhibition
It’s a decade since her hugelysuccessful Antarctic exhibition with the Strathearn Gallery in Crieff.
And, after clocking up the miles in between, Perth-based wildlife and watercolour artist Claire Harkess will return to the venue on the town’s West High Street on Saturday this week with her latest offering, titled ‘High Arctic’.
The showcase, which explores the Arctic Svalbard archipelago and Greenland, runs until October 8 and features more than 100 pieces capturing the beauty and unique nature of the stark landscape.
Claire, who studied at the Glasgow School of Art, was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 2005.
She has won numerous awards for her work and has exhibited worldwide, including in Singapore, Sydney, New York, Munich and London, and has work in the Walter Scott Art Collection, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) base in Perth, as well as at Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
When Claire is not committed to exhibitions, she travels to source her inspiration for her next body of work.
The search has in the past taken her to Australia, Mexico – to follow the migration of the Monarch Butterfly – the Caribbean, Georgia, the Galapagos Islands and Kenya.
A foreword to the exhibition has been provided by Mike Robinson, chief executive of the RSGS.
It states: “The Arctic is changing more quickly than ever, with climate change and the increasing encroachment of resource extraction industries and other development.
“Purely understanding the Arctic is no longer enough. We need to be actively taking an interest in it, valuing it more and be working towards its protection and health. After all, we rely on it.
“This exhibition is a delightful insight and reminder of the beauty of the Arctic and I am sure will inspire and excite visitors in equal measure.
“Claire’s brush strokes and use of colour encapsulate the essence of the environment, the mood of the light and the personality of the wildlife she paints. This exhibition is truly a great spectacle.”
Award-winning TV cameraman Gordon Buchanan – who presented the BBC documentary series ‘The Polar Bear Family and Me,’ based in Svalbard – commented: “There is a majesty and mystery to the polar bear that is profoundly captured in Claire Harkess’s new exhibition.
“I can only marvel at the way Claire has profoundly captured not only the beauty but the very essence of these iconic animals.
“Polar bears to me are the embodiment of all life in the Arctic and to lose myself in Claire’s art is like seeing them again in the flesh.”
‘High Arctic’ opens at 11am on September 10.
Claire is set to be present on the day and will speak about her work.
For more information see www. strathearn-gallery.com