Clare Cockman United Kingdom

Back to profiles

The multi-layered intricate collaged artworks and paintings of Bristol based Clare are truly individual and thrive on personality, with sometimes cheeky mixtures of imagery and texture. Everything she does represents her at her most honest, sometimes crazy and extroverted with bright colours but often sad and introverted in monochrome.

Clare is often found around Bristol, photographing peeling walls and cracks and marks in the pavements. She sees the beauty in the natural way that marks and textures form throughout the city. “My favourite things are the peeling layers of billboards, cracks in pavements between the paths and sections of concrete, the grids, the shadows, and patterns that overlap the lines. I also love window frames and the images and stories within. “I really struggle with change, so by creating layer upon layer, I can challenge myself though my work. You must believe in the ugly phase of your work and sometimes be brave by covering up a layer you think is beautiful. You may find it appears later when more layers are peeled back! “I don’t like to spend a huge amount on art materials and canvass/boards. I prefer to use items found in charity shops and car boot sales. They have a history before I’ve even started!” “My work is made up of my own photography and original artwork, ripped and torn. I like to experiment with printing on different papers, especially old book pages, so that the words appear though the images. My artwork can take months to create, due to the number of layers I like to build up, to then be able to peel and scrape back to show the magic! They really do tell a story”.