HisNeonCamel is the home of artist, designer and musician Clare Hines

I am in my mid-60s and I have finally become an art student. My life has always been filled with creativity though not formally with art. I write and play music; design websites, posters, leaflets and cd covers. I love reading books and I have a passion for colour, big skies and the engagement of imagination.

I think I can be intensely visual - a sight (landscape, cinema etc) can arrest me and stop me in my tracks - hence my love of colour and how they go together and interact. The sweep of a beautiful curve such as you see in the architecture of Zaha Hadid can rivet me to the spot.

I have been practising art since 2021 and I find I tend towards the abstract. My best art is joyous and uplifting. I discovered gestural art in 2024 and took off with it. I saw an exhibition by Teresa Gonçales Lobo and realised for the first time that I understood the language of her art.

In my spare time, I run the Stroud Artists Cooperative with a friend. We now have over 150 members and organise exhibitions about four times a year. They are a talented bunch and a joy to work with. I have learned a lot from them, and was inspired to hold my first solo exhibition - ebullience - in June 2024. I have been curating the Cooperative’s exhibitions since early in 2024 - which I find both exhilarating and challenging! I would like to continue my journey of exploration and learning - the interface between colour, texture, form and 2d/3d realisation of that truly interests and intrigues me.

I will be starting a Master's in Fine Art at the University of Gloucestershire in September 2025...