10 Questions with Claudia Newman
Claudia, born in former East Germany, has always been drawn to the world of art since her early childhood when she found solace and self-expression through various creative outlets. Despite initially veering towards a different professional path, she never abandoned her passion for painting. Self-taught across multiple mediums and continually seeking her own artistic voice, Claudia has crafted some stunning abstract and landscape paintings for collectors and worked as an Illustrator for some years.
Now, fully dedicated to her own artistic journey, Claudia channels her creativity and passion into creating captivating surreal works for art connoisseurs worldwide.
In her artistic process, sketches for new paintings often emerge spontaneously as an automatic painting process, devoid of predetermined plans or intentions. The creation unfolds organically from within, developing into its own entity. Once sketched, the artwork remains untouched by analysis or judgment, allowing it to mature naturally as she embarks on her creative journey to nurture its evolution. This harmonious progression exudes almost a rhythmic quality, as if her subconscious and imagination engage in a seamless interplay, guiding the artwork towards its completion and bringing an entity with their own feelings and emotions and placed into a seemingly familiar environment to live.
Claudia Newman - Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
Claudia's artwork serves as a reflection of her personal growth, encapsulating her profound thoughts and emotions. Her pieces are captivating, evocative, and filled with deep meaning. Through her creations, one can perceive her insatiable curiosity about the world but also get a glance at her deep imagination and subconscious mind. Therefore, she offers a unique lens through which she interprets and understands her surroundings. The beauty emanating from her artworks pays a unique homage to the complexities of human experiences and the diverse forms present in our universe.
In Claudia's words: "As a surrealist artist, my creative journey is fueled by an unwavering passion for capturing the vibrant essence of nature through its organic shapes and colors. Each painting I create is not merely a representation of what I see but a manifestation of my intuition intertwined with my imagination. In this process, I aim to reflect not only the world around me but also the deeper connections we share with it. My dedication to pushing the boundaries of artistic expression drives me to blend traditional techniques with modern innovation, resulting in a unique and diverse body of work of a different kind." "
Behold, paper, canvas, oil paint, 50x50 cm, 2023 © Claudia Newman
INTERVIEW
First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you, and how did you start making art?
Hello, my name is Claudia, I was born in former East Germany and now I'm working and living in London / UK. I'm self-taught in many mediums, but found out over time that oil paint suits my work the best. As long as I can remember I have been expressing myself, daydreaming and fantasizing, and trying to put that into drawings, paintings, music, or theatre.
Growing up with very limited resources, you just become very creative and find solutions and everything can be used and useful somehow. Besides that, I had a beautiful childhood, because I just didn't know differently than that little bubble we were in.
After we got re-united, uncertainty and the unknown settled in. I felt it for myself as a child, but I also witnessed the worries of my parents and family, and you hear it everywhere you go, and somehow, sadly, that becomes like a mantra, and as a child, you are very receptive to such.
From one day to the other, the world was awaiting you with arms wide open, and you could become and be whatever you want, but that was also freaking scary. And while I would have loved to go for any creative profession, there was just too much fear of the future and of not having financial stability by doing so. And a creative mind was not seen as a virtue but rather as a distraction. So, I later studied law for a profession, which I held for ten years. But as time passed, I just felt that it wasn't for me, and I had to do something about it. I started to feel restless and as if I did not belong anywhere. I left Germany to travel for a while, from Canada, France, and the United States, and after coming back to France with a slightly calmer mindset, I slowly realized that the missing part was being creative and to let that out.
Douleur des Regards, oil on canvas, 90x90 cm, 2024 © Claudia Newman
What led you to eventually pursue art full-time after initially exploring a different professional path?
As mentioned above, after realizing that I had to get that creativity somehow out and just do "stuff," I bought some paint tubes and canvases and started to experiment with colors, shapes, and textures, and I just got lost in my own little world while I painted. Everything was on the floor, and it was almost like a whole bodily exercise and involvement. It took me back to my childhood when I painted the whole afternoon away, not caring that I got paint on my hands, feet, and hair. The process of doing so and of being messy gave me serenity and a way of acceptance; somehow, the paint accepted me as I am and whatever the outcome might be. It sounds very metaphorical, but like animals who love you unconditionally without judgment. From there, no one could stop me anymore; I started to paint for myself and for my flat as I couldn't find the artwork I was looking for. That spread out to friends of mine who also wanted paintings and so on, with people asking for commissions, and me working as an illustrator and commissioned painter at some point. But while I tried out a lot of different painting styles for others, I somehow never really questioned and dived into what I wanted to create from within myself. That was another journey, and it took another few years to find out. Now, I'm completely focusing on my painting journey and my artistic growth.
Can you share what a typical day in your studio looks like when you're in the process of creating a new piece?
Usually, my morning starts with a nice cup of green tea and some breakfast. I'm a late-night thinker and somehow an owl, and nights feel somehow soothing to me. So, I like to take my time in the morning to wake up fully. Usually, after midday, I'm on my bicycle on the way to the studio (my bike is my preferred way of commuting in London). There, I clean up a little bit, go through the sketched-out canvases, or just look at what I did the day before and see how I feel about it. As my paintings are done from automatic sketches, I somehow have to connect to them, as I don't have things planned out. This happens sometimes very quickly, and sometimes I'm not able to connect at all to a certain piece at the right moment. I usually have 4-5 pieces to work on, so there is always something to do. From there on, I paint as long as I feel the connection and drive to paint for that day.
Elegans, oil on canvas, 50x50 cm, 2024 © Claudia Newman
Talking about your work, can you explain how your automatic painting process works and how it influences the final outcome of your artwork?
I always have prepared canvases ready, some with some textures and all of them toned, so I'm always ready to go.
For the start, I select a brush and, most of the time, an earth color, and then I will sit in front of the empty canvas and look, feel, and absorb. This can be a few seconds or also minutes. I filmed myself at some point to find out how much time I spent sitting there until I painted and the longest was over a half hour. Then the brush moves almost like it is dancing, and I let it dance until it stops. This painting process usually doesn't take longer than 5 minutes. After that, I don't try to analyze it or judge it. The canvas goes down from the easel to a side and sits there for a few days or even weeks.
When developing the painting further, I don't have any goal or plan; it just develops from within and grows into its own entity over time. It is all about the feelings I feel, and it is almost like a give-and-take of fondness between me and the painting. I try to welcome this little critter with warmth and tenderness into this world as it slowly starts to reveal itself. l see it as a rhythmic interplay of my subconscious mind and my fantasy, paired up with something that might channel through me. Carl Jung talks about the collective unconscious; maybe that's where I'm tapping in. There are still so many ways our body and brains behave, which we still don't comprehend fully or can explain, and it deeply fascinates me.
For the environment of my creatures, I get at some point a feeling where they would "live "and that's where I place them. So the background is a more conscious way of painting, with inspirations from the past, present, or both paired with my imagination.
How do you maintain a balance between the organic flow of your creativity and the technical aspects of painting?
Somehow I still have more of a traditional approach to painting as I usually start with an underpainting. From there I just work on the shadows and lights and develop shapes and forms, in a maximum of 2 or 3 colors. And at some point, I'm adding colors to the painting and the painting comes alive in its full form. This is the moment when the real magic happens. My paintings take time to grow and develop and it can sometimes take weeks to fully finish one.
Saudade, paper, canvas, oil paint, 50x50 cm, 2024 © Claudia Newman
The Upside-Down, paper, canvas and oil paint, 80x80 cm, 2023 © Claudia Newman
Your art seems to reflect both your subconscious and personal growth. What emotions or thoughts do you aim to convey through your paintings?
As much as I try to approach my paintings neutrally, I'm sure my emotions and feelings get transferred into them. What I definitely want is for us to pay more attention to our surroundings, to our fellow human beings, and to animals and plants. There is so much we can learn from each other and from everything in general. As we start to grasp now slowly, that animals have feelings, fears, and certain thought processes. Also, Masaru Emoto's water experiment, for example, is so interesting, where he wanted to prove that water crystals behave in a certain way when they hear music or words positively or negatively.
For me on the other hand, it is very important how the painting makes you feel, as a viewer. What do you see, what do you feel loved, do you feel watched, what do you project into it maybe, or does it steer up something in you? I like to give not too many things away about the painting. Already the title can be such a strong wording and it can shift the painting in a certain direction, whether it resonates with you or not.
On the other hand, I'm always amazed at how children see and perceive my paintings. They stand there, staring and wondering, with a childish curiosity and mind, trying to figure it out and not afraid to question it. I think we lose that when we grow up, to see and question even simple things. Children are much more receptive to it and also open and honest about their feelings.
What role do dreams or subconscious thoughts play in the creation of your surrealist works?
I have very vivid dreams and my fantasy was always going 100 miles per hour. Lately, I found out, that there are 2 types of people, one that thinks in pictures and others in words, and then you got the mixed group. I'm definitely the one in pictures, but mine seems constantly in overdrive (in a good way!).
For my subconscious mind, I got much later aware of it again. Growing up in East Germany, I did not know much about dreams and fantasy. Everything has to be real and black and white. But I do understand that back then, it was very easy for me to tap into that deeper world. And that this was and is a great ability to have.
Ultimately, what do you hope people feel or experience when viewing your art?
In the end, I want people to connect somehow to my paintings and maybe feel empowered, understood, cared for, loved, or just that it makes them happy when they see it. Not every painting will make you feel something or in a certain way. But if it does, it is usually full-on.
My little creatures have feelings and emotions which we all have sometimes and hopefully, it gives the viewers the comfort of not being alone or misunderstood. However, because they seem to have a soul for themselves, those feelings can also be interchangeable day by day.
Dissensus, paper, canvas, oil paint, 50x50 cm, 2023 © Claudia Newman
Are there any new themes or techniques you're excited to explore in your future projects?
I would love to bring some of my critters to life by sculpting them. It would be so amazing to give them even more form and shape. Or, maybe, to try out my process, but working with clay or something that is workable for a longer time. I have already done some experiments, but so far, I haven't been happy with the outcome.
What can we expect to see from you in the coming months in terms of exhibitions or new collections?
I'm working at the moment on more paintings with creatures placed in an intimate environment or at home. From there on, I'm planning a new collection for a group exhibition later next year with two friends in London. We are all foreigners from different countries and made the UK our home, so that will be played on this. Besides that, I got some more ideas for collections and a collaboration, which I'm super excited about, but I'm still brainstorming over it.
Artist’s Talk
Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.
