Gouache, still life paintings by Clara Rubin that celebrate her love of Italian life

"Being Italian I like to bring my influence, background and heritage to each piece of work alongside my emotions," she tells us. "I feel most inspired when a subject is close to me and, whereby I have a connection and bond. Places, such as where I used to visit in my childhood hold fond memories for me and inspire my work."

Describing herself as an emotive artist, she likes to focus on the "feeling" that a place offers, more so than what is around her, paying attention to the vivid colours, the smells and noises. "When painting I allow all this emotion to come across so that when looking at my work you gain a sense of how I was feeling at the time. This way of painting allows me to show depth in portraying what I am seeing rather than a photographic representation," she adds.

Working mainly with gouache on paper, Clara also takes inspiration from artists such as Paula Lawrie, Dike Blair, Lois Dodd and David Hockney, pointing to the vibrant colours they use.

She graduated from the Camberwell College of Arts in 2012 and after living in London for seven years, decided to move back home to Italy. Clara has since become a freelance illustrator, working for clients such as The New Yorker and Rimowa. She also sells her original artworks, as featured here. Discover more at clara-rubin.com.