Was there a moment when you knew art was going to be a big part of your life, or did painting find you along the way? 

After I had my children I was looking for a way to get a mental break from the day to day mothering stuff, which don’t get me wrong I loved, but also it’s a 24hr a day job so I needed to have something to help break things up.  I turned to art as a form of meditation and it was something I started to practice a lot.  I became a better artist and a much calmer mother as a result!  But to be honest I don’t really remember art not being part of my life - I feel like it’s just always been there.

Have you always been creative, and did you formally study art at any point?

I’ve always known that art was something I loved.  I’ve always loved making things, as a child I loved making posters, cards and anything that involved drawing.  I didn’t feel like art was a subject that was encouraged much at school so I never took it.  I  carried a notebook to draw in during my 20s travelling in Europe - I feel like I learnt a lot about composition during those years.  Painting and colour came along much later on. 

Your work feels joyful, optimistic and full of light. Even when a piece leans moodier or more dramatic, there always seems to be a glimmer of light breaking through. Is that something you consciously bring to your paintings, or is it simply part of how you see the world?

Joyful!  I love that! 

I love the escapism, the storytelling, the visual memories and emotions that art can evoke.  Art is all about feeling something.  I use colour to portray feeling in my paintings, and light feels optimistic doesn’t it?   Right now I’m loving landscapes but I do from time to time switch things up to a much looser more abstracted approach.  The colour and light is always there though!

You paint from memory rather than directly from a landscape. What is it that makes you mentally hit the pause button and think, "I'll be painting that later"?

I’ve done more travelling in NZ in the last few years than I’ve ever done.  I love to stop and take it all in and I’ve learned to take things more slowly so that I can feel more immersed in a landscape.  I do take a camera with me on my travels as a point of reference but I do try to remember the feeling or the essence of a place so I can get that down on the canvas later on. 

If someone hijacked your Spotify account while you were painting, what would they find? What's the soundtrack to a Brenda Clews studio session?

Oh gawwd!  Ok in full transparency I share a Spotify account with my kids 19, 17 and 13 ha ha… so it’s actually all over the place.  

Luckily we all love music in our house and we have an eclectic mix on board.  You will find Teddy Swims, Rufus Du Sol, Central Cee, Drake, Fred Again, Sammy Virji, Fleetwood Mac, and Chris Cornell that’s just on a Monday!.  I will always paint with music - it helps me get into my groove literally!

When you start a new painting, are you the type to have a clear destination in mind, or are you more likely to throw caution to the wind and see where the paint takes you?

In all other facets of my life I’m pretty organised and try to have a clear destination in mind.  However in my studio I have the chance to go all out and be a bit messy, unorganised and take a few risks. I never really know until I start where the painting will lead me though, generally I don’t think… I’m going to paint this landscape…, I just sort of have an overall feeling of a place that I want to portray and go from there.

Is there a colour you're currently obsessed with? And equally, is there a colour lurking in the corner of your paint box that you're trying very hard to avoid?

I’m obsessed with colour fullstop.  But I guess if I was to be thinking about what colours I’m using right now, then it would have to be a heavy bodied antique white from the matisse range (that’s like a long running love affair that one) and then Azo Gold from the Golden fluid range, an amazing glaze when mixed with a glazing medium that gives everything a gorgeous glow. 

Your paintings have so much movement and energy. What's the reality of the studio? Calm, focused and zen... or organised chaos with paint on everything?

There’s an organised chaos you could say, others might well say different!

I don’t always know where my colours are and I have about a hundred Tip Top ice cream lids which I use as palettes floating around.  But it’s a kind of playful mess where experimentation can happen and the unexpected is ok.    

Any non-negotiables when you're painting? Coffee? Loud music? Chocolate? A favourite brush you've had for years? Talking to the canvas?

Great lighting is non-negotiable, I will move wherever the light is in the house and work from there.  Next it’s tea and gingernuts.  Can get through a pack in a painting session, no problem.

If you weren't an artist, what do you think you'd be doing instead?

I’ve always fancied being a florist, just being around beautifully scented pretty things all day really appeals to me.  When I studied marketing years ago - I started a florist as my business idea for an assignment.  I I think I may have failed that because I ordered 1000  instead of 10 stems of the same flower at the flower auction.  Something about stock control?!

What's one thing you're still trying to learn, improve or explore in your work?

I’m still trying to improve the balance between social media, admin and painting.  I want to paint 100% of the time, but in order to sustain painting artists all know that we have to do the necessary other things too.  On a creative level, I have a need to keep pushing myself to see what I am capable of, I practice a.lot and I think that’s the way I’ve improved over the years.  Practice is so underrated.  

And finally, if your artwork walked into a room as a person, how would you describe them?

So very passionate, resilient and patient.  I decided a long time ago that I would dedicate myself to learning my craft and practising as much as I could, I’m very proud of that person that just walked into the room.