Emerging artist Clare Hamilton’s exhibit at Cocoon Gallery draws deeply from her background

Emerging artist Clare Hamilton’s collected works are on display at the Margaret River Library’s Cocoon Gallery until the end of June. The Scottish-born painter’s exhibition, titled Art of Ealain, draws deeply on the Margaret River woman’s personal history and diverse work background. The paintings and illustrations, which are mostly watercolours and acrylics, were curated from Hamilton’s personal collection built up during her past seven years in Australia, with most of that time in the region. The exhibition title honours her Scottish roots, with the Scots Gaelic phrase “meaning to be creative, an acquired craft or skill,” the artist said. “Watercolour is my medium of choice and a bit of an old favourite,” she said. “I also go through phases of using acrylics and ink-line drawing. “Painting is a yin and yang process for me. I have always been very methodical, detailed and particular in the way I work.” Hamilton worked for more than 15 years as a town planner, but these days serves as one of the permanent artists at the Margaret River Artisan Store, with art becoming her main focus as the pandemic kicked off back in June 2020. As an artist, Hamilton was mostly self-taught, inspired as a youngster by the work of fellow Scot, architect, designer and watercolour painter Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and through him, the European Symbolism movement which influenced early Art Nouveau. Her paintings take inspiration from nature, “melding familiar objects and organic patterns,” she said. Part of her enjoyment of the medium was watching her own work evolve through the process, often “into something completely different” to what was planned. “I am a self-confessed perfectionist and definitely need to be in the right frame of mind to feel creative,” Hamilton said. “I often come and go from pieces I am working on over a period of weeks, deliberating the next brush stroke. “This habit hasn’t changed much over my years of painting.” Hamilton was also working on a children’s book and would feature in September’s Margaret River Region Open Studios.