SPOTLIGHT ON ... Claire Stokes!

By JoAnn Frekot

"Visual Flight View," Claire Stokes

Early Influences  Growing up in Minnesota, Claire Stokes was not especially interested in drawing or painting, but had an early fascination with cameras - how they worked and the images they created.   

When Claire arrived at college, she majored in chemistry at the University of Minnesota.  While she didn't take art classes, Claire did utilize the chemistry department's darkroom to develop film and make black and white prints.

After graduating from college, Claire held chemist jobs in Minnesota and Virginia.  She returned to the University of Minnesota obtained a master's degree in library science, and eventually landed at 3M.  There, Claire worked with 3M inventors preparing literature reviews for patent applications.  

Photography Takes Hold  After several years, Claire resigned from 3M and delved into photography, working as a photo assistant and wedding photographer.  This flexible work schedule was ideal when Claire's daughter was young.

In 2008 Claire returned to 3M, where her former department welcomed her back.  She remained there,  becoming a supervisor in the process, before retiring in 2019.

A page from Claire's drawing notebook

Drawing and Painting Explorations After retiring, Claie took a watercolor class from St. Paul Public Schools.  She was smitten and decided she had better learn to draw.  Using an instruction book, she created her first notebook of drawings.  

Claire enjoys doing things she hasn't done before.   As she grew artistically, she learned from many books, online and workshop instructors, and You Tube videos.     

An early oil painting, Claire Stokes

With only pencils and watercolors, she began to follow artists working in acrylics and oils.  After applying thick watercolor to follow these instructors, she decided to try oil painting.  

"FlowersVase," Claire Stokes

Subject-wise, Claire is drawn to water/land/skyscapes.  She liked to paint small, detailed paintings, but also likes to paint more abstract compositions.

Inspirations Inspirations come from past experiences.  In high school, Claire obtained a pilot's license and flew a Cessna 150 in northern Minnesota.   These memories inspired her "visual flight views" series, seeing the Earth from an elevated viewpoint.  Memories of sailing with her father on Lake Superior also provide inspiration for paintings.  

Another source of inspiration comes from a sense of curiosity.  Claire will be struck by questions, such as "Can I try to capture a hummingbird?" which led her to experiment with different techniques and subject matter.  

Claire's latest challenge is studying calligraphy, working from a book.  After finishing up handmade Christmas cards, Claire is turning her attention to working in oils.  

Joining OT Artists  Claire found out about OT Artists by way of attending St. Paul Art Crawls...she picked up an SPAC catalog and circled artists whose work she admired.  One of them was Tom McGregor.   (Tom is another OT Artist member).  About the same time, Claire was thinking of getting studio space, and googled "Tom McGregor," which lead her to the OT Artist website.  Contacting Tom McGregor directly seemed a bit intimidating!   She contacted OT Artist, Allison Eklund instead.  While there were no openings at the time, Allison was very encouraging and Claire joined the wait list.  A spot opened up in 2022 and Claire joined the studio at that time.

When asked what she likes about being a member of OT Artists, Claire said she likes having a designated place to work.  Claire also appreciates seeing what other people in the studio are working on.  She also enjoys learning from them and participating in lively discussions.