Claire du Bosky
I completed my fine arts degree at Oxford University in 1983 and went on to teach art at secondary school level in the south of England for 18 years before moving to New Zealand, teaching art continually now for 24 years.
My own passion for painting and printmaking has seen me exhibit on numerous occasions in England, Scotland and now in New Zealand.
From 2009 I started painting full time. My areas of interest include landscape, rural themes, figurative compositions and portraiture. We have Wiltshire sheep and Belted Galloway cows on our small lifestyle block and these animals provide a wonderful subject matter to paint.
Why faces on mussel shells?
The inspiration for painting faces on mussel shells came while walking along Waihi Beach in the Coromandel.
I picked up a particularly large shell and felt straight away the need to paint a ¾-view caricature of an old man on the shell. Hundreds have now developed from here.
I find my inspiration from photos of faces of friends and family and many have now fallen victim to the brush over the past 3 years.
More recently, I have been approached to do commissions for people of their own friends and family. These have been very favourably received.
