Please can you tell me about yourself?

Sure, my name is Clay. I grew up in New Zealand but came to the UK in 1996 on a working holiday. I soon met my wife and have lived here ever since. I spent my youth trying to be a rockstar, but not much need for them in Aotearoa and maybe we weren’t as good as we thought we were. My day job was a civil engineer, which I hated, but it enabled me to play music and eat.

In 2004 I was seriously depressed doing a job I hated, so I just quit and moved my young family to New Zealand for 6 months and tried to work out what I was going to do for the remainder of my time on this planet. Art at the time was a hobby and I had no intention of doing it professionally.

During the 6 months in New Zealand, I absorbed myself in my art and before I knew it, my work was being bought by ‘people who didn’t even know me’

What inspired you to create art? Have your surroundings influenced your artwork?

Interesting question. My surroundings definitely influence me. I didn’t start painting until I came to London. My father is an established/well known landscape painter, so I grew up around art - but showed little interest. Maybe I needed to get to the other side of the world before I could do what my dad was doing? A psychologist would have a field day with my father issues I’m sure.

But my eureka moment was in 1996 when I was doing a city break with a Kiwi friend in Vienna. She suggested we visit some funky gallery down a back street; Hundertwasser’s Kunst Haus. We walked in the door and there was a sign that said New Zealand with an arrow pointing down. That was where he lived at the time. The floors were all wonky mosaics and undulated, there were bold colours everywhere and a statement scrawled on the wall that declared, ‘A straight line is godless’ I thought ‘Now this is art’.

Describe your creative process; from start to finish of a painting. Where do you find your inspiration?

I think a lot. Always thinking, wrestling with what it means to be human/a temporary planet dweller, and how best to live my few years on this earth. My sketch book is filled with philosophical ideas, not pictures. Actually that’s not completely true. I create a lot of symbols to represent my philosophical ideas. Similar to Adinkra symbols from Ghana.

So, a painting will start with whatever issue is running through my head. Often it is to do with identity, relationship with others, power, prestige and possessions. I’ll often come up with lots of what I think are witty one liners, and then I’ll think of images or style of painting that will go with those ideas.

What is your favourite piece of work you have created and why?

My favourite creation is actually not a painting….. In 2016 I had a little gallery in the High Street of Stroud. The day after the Brexit vote I witnessed some horrible abuse towards a refugee charity shop. My response was to go to my laptop and declare to my Facebook friends ‘Maybe it’s time for The People’s Republic of Stroud, Everybody Welcome’ along with a flag I had designed for the town. It struck a chord, and before I knew it I had created a monster. My creativity was soon producing a silly amount of different t-shirt designs and associated merch. My art gallery became HQ for the Republic and my art took a bit of a back seat. Great times, but Covid brought an end to the gallery and the PR of Stroud now has a home in the main gig venue in town.

There’s details about it on my website: https://www.claysinclair.com/thepeoplesrepublicofstroud

How would you describe your style? What makes your work unique?

My work is pretty unique in that I work in reverse onto acrylic sheet. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like painting on a window and then going the other side to see what it looks like. I love it, how it allows accidental things to happen, and the purity of colour it creates is pretty amazing. I accidently discovered this technique when I peeled off some dried paint from my pallet during one of my first ever paintings. I looked under the peeled paint and thought ‘that looks cool, how do I do that again?’ Paint on glass, which then led to acrylic.

Who is your favourite artist and why? Do they have an influence on your work?

I have many favourites.

Hundertwasser for his ‘art can change the world attitude’

Colin McCahon, a Kiwi legend who used raw text in his paintings

Howard Hodgkin for his wild use of colour and movement

Andy Warhol for just being Andy Warhol

And my Dad, who despite creating art world’s away from what I do, showed me through his life how to make it as an independent artist.

Please tell me about your achievements as an artist so far and then also the challenges that you have faced.

My greatest achievement is the fact that I wake up every day and have the chance to create something that has never existed before. I’m doing what I was born to do. I feel very blessed, but it was a tough journey to get here. I read a book once and it said, ‘Most people don’t hate what they’re doing enough to find out what they really should be doing’ - I guess I was fortunate I suffered serious depression doing a job I hated. I had to change. Having a very supportive wife helped too. She just wants me to thrive, as I want her to do so as well.

Why do you think art is important in society?

Imagine a world where no one was allowed to create art, music, poetry or dance? It is the most primal, natural thing for us humans. It’s what we do. Sadly, in modern western life we think we have to be good at it to do it. Just do it, have fun and be fully human.

https://www.claysinclair.com