'I've drawn horses all my life, always trying to understand their movement and personality. When I moved into sculpture, especially with materials like Jesmonite and bronze, it felt like I could give them life in space-so people can walk around the work, see it in a changing light, feel something of who that animal is.'
Claire Verity's art revolves around capturing the presence of animals-particularly horses and dogs-not just how they look but how they move, how they stand, the temperament behind posture. Her earlier work was strongly grounded in drawing and painting. These pieces show fine observation, anatomical accuracy, and sensitivity to light, shadow and environment.
Over time, she felt drawn to give her subjects volume, to work in space as well as on surface. Sculpture became a natural progression. She models in clay, refines form, then works with final media such as Jesmonite and occasionally bronze. Jesmonite plays a special role: the material allows her to render fine surface detail and texture, to play with light, and to produce pieces that are durable yet responsive. The use of bases such as Welsh slate gives further contrast and grounding to the sculptures, anchoring the form in physical material that complements the animal figure.
Claire often works from sketches and life studies-photographs, observation at stables-and carries that understanding into sculpture. Her paintings continue alongside her sculptures; this cross‑fertilisation informs both: what she learns about light, posture, gestural detail in painting informs her sculptures, and the sense of form in sculpture feeds back into her two‑dimensional work.
Her process is patient. She layers, refines, reworks until the piece feels like it holds presence-not merely shape but weight and character. Her art captures not just the look of an animal but how it occupies space, how it seems alive.