Claire Hill: Artist

Flowers are given to people in many different situations, from sending congratulations or condolences to those mourning a loss. They are also a reminder of the beauty of this world and the preciousness of time.

Painter Claire Hill finds beauty in growing flowers in the yard of her Richmond home, but it’s the joy of capturing their beauty in a painting that she loves the most.

“The goal is to make people stop for a second.”

Claire equates the fleeting beauty of a bloom with how precious life is. 

“My mom was diagnosed with cancer as I was in the midst of painting all my flowers so I just kept painting…”

Being surrounded by the ones people gave as condolences was an influence on her art as she saw how anyone could be impacted by a flower. It’s that little reminder of what a gift the natural world is.  

“After my mom passed, this strange thing with colors happened with me…and now I just want an explosion of colors all the time.” 

Claire says that she just wants people to experience the joy that grows all around them. Flowers, for her, are not just subjects but a real connection with her mom. She hopes that other people find connections in her paintings, too.

“I think my ultimate goal is to spread beauty and spread things that make people happy because life is hard.”

For more information, visit Claire’s website. Follow Claire on Instagram.

This film is by Stephen Farris and Kevin Gillingham.

Produced by Laura Christian.