Artist ‘absolutely thrilled’ after being shortlisted for two awards at Harrogate Advertiser Business Excellence Awards

Claire Baxter, who grew up in Knaresborough and was a pupil at St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate, is a local artist who paints Yorkshire-inspired paintings and is the brainchild behind Claire Baxter Fine Art.

In 2019, she opened her first art gallery on the High Street in Pateley Bridge, which has now become a major attraction for both residents and tourists who visit the town.

The gallery stocks a wide selection of Claire’s work including originals, limited edition prints and greetings cards.

Following the success of her gallery in Pateley Bridge, she opened her second gallery on Castlegate in Knaresborough last year.

Claire said: “I love to paint – it’s wonderful when you have an idea in your head and then you see it become a reality

“What I paint doesn’t exist in reality, although I paint real locations using photographs as reference, the characters I depict, are from imagination – they tell the story.

“This is why painting private commissions is very rewarding as you are able to paint someone’s memory.

“A fragment in someone’s mind is captured for everyone else to see and the paintings bring a great deal of joy which is evident when people visit the galleries.”

Back in 2020, Claire was asked by Welcome to Yorkshire to be the official artist for the Tour de Yorkshire and create a number of pieces to promote the event across the year.

Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event, which included the Stage Four Mens Race passing through Pateley Bridge and Greenhow Hill, did not happen.

Claire said: “I had free reign over what I wanted to paint and I chose to do six paintings celebrating all four counties of Yorkshire.

“The tour should have been in the April, the paintings were going to be released in the March, and then the pandemic happened the week before the paintings were meant to be released which was such a shame.

“So when it didn’t happen, it was a real blow because I had already invested in everything that I needed to do, right up until the last minute and then suddenly it didn’t happen.

“But for me the fact that I had even been selected and asked to do it is such as massive achievement, regardless of whether or not the race happened.”

Ahead of the Great Knaresborough Bed Race in June, Claire has been chosen as the official artist for the event and has created two stunning paintings to commemorate the historic race.

The two paintings, titled ‘Time and Tide’ and ‘Bed Time’ retail at £1,295 and £595 respectively, with medium, small and postcards also available.

A total of 25 per cent of all proceeds from the paintings will go towards the Knaresborough Lions.

Claire said: “Bed Race is such a special event and having experienced it live for so many years, I have been inspired to capture its quirkiness on canvas.

“For many, the river crossing is the highlight of the day so I have rendered that and the larger Time and Tide painting incorporates the famous Knaresborough Viaduct.

“We have so much that is famous – bridges, the river, the hills, the Gorge, cobbled streets, parkland – and it all comes together on Bed Race Day.”

Last year, Claire Baxter Fine Art won Best Rural Business at the Harrogate Advertiser Business Excellence Awards, an award that Claire and her team are extremely proud of.

Speaking after winning, she said: “I was really surprised as it was fantastic to even have been nominated, let alone win the award and it just makes everything that I have been doing for the last couple of years really worthwhile.

“I’m really proud of everything that we have done and my team because I wouldn’t be here without them.”

This year, Claire Baxter Fine Art has been named as a finalist in the Retail or Leisure Business of the Year and Best Independent Business categories at the Harrogate Advertiser Business Excellence Awards later this month.

On being shortlisted for two awards this year, Claire said: “To be nominated for one award is amazing, but to be nominated for two awards is doubly amazing.

“It’s just so nice that you work so hard behind the scenes and it’s nice to come together with other people in the same situation to celebrate success.

“It is a rollercoaster – it is up and down and you have your bad times – so it’s really important to then celebrate the good times and that all your hard work has been recognised.

“I was there last year and the vibe is just so lovely and it’s such a fun and exciting event.

“I think that these awards are so important because you are working away, either by yourself or with your team, and it’s just nice to have that recognition from anybody that you are doing something well.”

The Harrogate Advertiser Business Excellence Awards 2024 will take place on Thursday, May 23. at the Pavilions of Harrogate.

The event promises to be a glamorous affair, celebrating the achievements and resilience of businesses within the Harrogate district.