EastEnders artist Claire puts paintings on show to 'cheer people up'

An exhibition of colourful paintings to make you smile opens at a Yorkshire art gallery next month.
Artist Claire West's work will be on show later this monthArtist Claire West's work will be on show later this month
Artist Claire West's work will be on show later this month

Beverley-based artist Claire West, who works mostly in acrylics and mixed media, says the aim of her work is ‘to cheer people up’.

“I was one of those children who wrote one line in their exercise book in very big writing and then drew huge picture – and nothing much has changed,” said Claire.

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“I paint work that I hope will cheer people up and make them smile. It has been said that you may need sunglasses when looking at some of my paintings. I took that as a compliment – whether it was meant as one or not!

“Very rarely do I plan what I’m going to paint: it just evolves through splashing about colour and seeing what comes to mind.”

In the past year Claire has worked on many and varied projects including artwork used as a backdrop in the TV film Death on the Tyne starring Johnny Vegas.

She has also had work commissioned by EastEnders for use on recent sets.

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Claire studied at Humberside University, gaining a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. As well as exhibiting in galleries across the UK, Claire regularly holds workshops in painting and printmaking to groups of all ages and abilities.

Happy can be seen in the gallery at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, from Tuesday April 23 to Saturday June 15. The gallery is open from 10am to 6pm, Mondays to Saturdays, except during show times. Entry is free.