Mairi Clark

MAIRI CLARK was born in Fife and trained at Chelsea and Central St Martins School of Art in London where she gained a B.A.Hons in Fine Art (Painting).  Since graduating, she has exhibited extensively throughout Scotland and the UK. Her influences are William Turner, Van Gogh and Joan Eardley, whilst her gestural mark making suggests an affinity with the methods of the Abstract Impressionists. 

Mairi is inspired by the Scottish sea and landscape.  Her childhood memories of salmon fishing holidays in the North West Highlands and on the North East Coast of Scotland have remained strong.  It is the ever changing interplay between sea, sky and land and the mood that these features evoke which captivate her. Mairi’s passion for the colours she observes is clear. The vibrancy and purity of colour in her work is striking as is her exploration of texture and mark making through a medium she so evidently relishes.  Her passion is obvious in the energetic application of colliding layers of paint. The technique emphasises the atmosphere and changing weather conditions.

Mairi's use of a wild and vibrant tapestry of colour and light ensures her abstract works have a real “sense of place” by reflecting her love of the Scottish sea and landscape.  “It is very important to me to capture a free and energetic mood in my work”. 

Chiefly painting in oils for their rich, deep and subtle qualities, she says “.......it is a very versatile medium, so many effects can be created by using it.  I enjoy using different layers, then scraping back into the paint to produce dramatic results.”

Although Mairi mainly works from memory she likes to have photographs around her studio. "I like to capture the mood and feel of a place that viewers can identify with.”