Born in Wiltshire, Claire Langdown attended Isleworth Polytechnic before studying sculpture at Kingston College of Art, where she started wood carving. After graduating in 1971 she continued to develop her skill and affinity with wood and set up a working studio in Blaenau Ffestiniog, north Wales. Here she created subtle works reacting to everyday life, places and objects and exhibited regularly from the mid 70s to the late 80s. She then turned her attention to painting, capturing light, colour and movement in works that flourish both as affirmations of the earlier carvings as well as being a body of dynamic, vibrant works in and for themselves.