Claire Chandler is a contemporary abstract expressionist painter.  Born in Hereford yet she spent much of her life living abroad. This developed into a love of travel and experiencing new places. Claire graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from The University of Northumbria in 1997 with the Terry Stephenson Prize. She has since been runner up for the Celeste Art Prize, has had regular exhibitions in and around London. She currently lives and works in Surrey.   "My paintings are abstract yet begin from observational drawings. I am constantly inspired by the skies, seasons, trees, the changing landscape and exploring nature, a sense of passing time and place.  I have a real passion for colour and how it connects with me emotionally.   There is a narrative in my work, it’s something that has accrued over time from things seen and experienced through my response to the landscape and is translated from memory into marks and motifs.  Through a layering of colour and a richness of surface the viewer is invited to wander and explore.   The forces of nature, weather, changes of seasons and travel to a new place always sparks my creativity.  I am always aware of space and finding a sense of calm within my work.  The spaces in my paintings are just as important to me as the marks.”