Meet Clare Burdeshaw | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clare Burdeshaw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clare, why did you pursue a creative career?
I pursued the path of being an artist mostly because I had to. I needed to. There has not been anything in my life that brings me the most joy, sense of purpose, and fervent drive to work than that of art. I’m a workaholic at heart, I possess an inherent need to be busy. That’s probably why my devoted medium is ballpoint pen (Bic Cristal Xtra Bold series are my favorites). My drawings take an incredible amount of time, precision and patience, not because I “have” to, because I want to.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always had a hard time trying to describe my art, maybe that’s because it comes from a place below my working conscious. The years filling sketchbooks, taking classes growing up and through college, ingrained the fundamentals of drawing, of creating art. However, the inspiration, the random ideas that pop up in my head at all hours of the day, I can’t quite explain. I can only say that my style of surrealism, illustration and design is the way it is because of hundreds of thousands of hours practicing, experimenting and putting in the work.
My challenges as an artist are not dissimilar to my other counterparts: paying the bills, navigating the world of small business ownership (in my case, a Sole Proprietorship), being present on social media, finding buyers, selling art, creating the art…etc. But the one larger than life lesson is that, without an inherent love for drawing, for being an artist and dealing with the ups and downs of being creative, all of this all could just be another job. But it’s not. Because I love what I do.
If I could have one thing the world knows about me or my “brand”, is that buying art from me means that you are buying something original, something completely me. Clare Burdeshaw.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take a visiting friend on a food tour of Los Angles. I love food, and this city has a lot of incredible options. If I hit a rut and can’t find inspiration to draw, my fallback is to eat a great meal and draw it! My notable recommendations are: Night+Market (Thai), Bud Namu (Kbbq), Philippe’s (original french dip) and of course, any sidewalk taco stand.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents, without a doubt, deserve all the credit in the world. I always had a plethora of art supplies at my disposal growing up, ample encouragement, and a general openness to pursue my passion without judgement. Being an artist is not an easy path. It takes a lot of grit to bear with the financial, practical, and emotional ups and downs of being, in a sense, the captain of your own ship. My mother and father, while always making sure I was being smart in my decisions in this career, have never once tried to undermine my efforts to explore where my work could take me.

Website: https://www.clareburdeshaw.com

Instagram: @artbyclareburdeshaw