Local artist Claire Elizabeth Day tells us the story behind her gorgeous psychedelia, why she'd punch Flo the Progessive Girl in her stupid face, and why moving to Denver changed her art forever.

Local artist Claire Elizabeth Day tells us the story behind her gorgeous psychedelia, why she'd punch Flo the Progessive Girl in her stupid face, and why moving to Denver changed her art forever.

How would you describe your art in one sentence? Psychedelic abstract emotion on canvas.

What influences your style of art? My art is therapeutic for me; whenever I am going through trying time in my life I turn to it. I can just sit there for hours thinking my way through life’s trials and get lost in the colors blending together.

What’s the best advice you’ve received? It’s a toss-up between “get out of your own head” and “don’t drink moscato”. The earlier people learn that, the better.

Why do you think most artists are starving? Because art supplies are ridiculously expensive and we tend to prioritize our lives differently than bankers.

Has the move from Virginia to Denver transformed your art at all? Definitely! Moving away from Northern Virginia was the best decision I ever made. I left after a horrible relationship finally ended and I found myself dealing with that through my art. I didn’t know anyone when I moved to Denver so I spent literally all of my spare time doing some sort of arts and crafts. November of 2012 my mom suggested that I start selling my work on Etsy and that is how I was discovered by Melissa Shipley of RAW:Denver. Making that decision to leave a bad situation to find myself worked out extremely well in my case! This has been the best year of my life so far!

Is there a message you’re trying to convey through your work? No. I like the idea of each individual perceiving my work the way it speaks to them. I don’t want to tell people what to think or how to feel.

Do you have a specific time of day or night you like to work? I work full time during the week so I tend to work late into the night. From time to time I will spend an entire weekend on my work. It doesn’t really matter the time of day for me.

Where can someone find your paintings? I have a few different profiles as well as a facebook page. I also can be contacted for customized pieces.I regularly showcase around town and I just signed a one year contract with TogaTig where my art can be purchased on high quality cases.

At the end of the day, what’s the one thing you’d like to achieve through your artwork? I want to continue to push myself to be able to look back and know that I lived my life to the fullest. I am not sure what new sort of challenges are ahead of me but I am excited to see how far I can take this passion I have.

What’s the most rewarding thing about being an artist? Hearing people tell me how my work makes them feel. I like knowing that I can create something that stirs up people’s emotions.

What’s the toughest part about being an artist? The chemical burns, ruined furniture/carpet and lack of sleep. It’s all worth it though.

If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing? I can’t really imagine myself without art in my life; I think I would feel like an empty shell of myself.

Vitals:

Name: Claire Elizabeth Day

Height: 5’ 7”

Favorite candy: NA

Guilty pleasure: Snapped & Wife Swap (don’t hate)

Best color: Jewel tones

Best movie quote: “Curiosity often leads to trouble.”-Alice in Wonderland

Biggest pet peeve in people: People lying to me, especially if you’re bad at it. I can see through a bad lie.

Worst job you’ve ever had? Being a camp counselor for a whole summer in a shack in the woods in college. The kids and other counselors were cool but living in the forests of southwest Virginia for an entire summer was awful! I’m a car camping type of girl for sure! I called home crying a lot that summer.

What’s your best party trick? Making the wine disappear! Just kidding, I don’t really have any tricks. I used to be pretty good at the worm and rapping in college though.

One person you’d punch in the face: Flo from the Progressive commercials, I hate that bitch for some reason!

What would you eat for your last meal? Vegan Sexy Pizza with pineapple! So good!

Strangest thing in your fridge right now: Milk chocolate soy coconut milk

Pepsi or coke: Coke

One thing you want to do before you die: Travel the world!

Shameless promo:

Rawartist.org/clairevoyantdesign

Facebook.com/clairedayart

etsy.com/shop/ClaireVoyantDesign

kessinhouse.com/pages/claire-day