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About the Artist

Working from her bright and airy kitchen studio Frances is an artist and tutor who uses watercolour in a traditional way to respond to inspiration from the changing seasons and landscapes. She focuses mainly on colour and light in scenery and enjoys using the paint in a loose and expressive way. Frances is passionate about watercolour and loves to share her enthusiasm for this captivating medium.

A graduate in Interior Design from Edinburgh College of Art, Frances’ practice has evolved to encompass a broad spectrum of creative arts. Her interest in the use of visual art and the creative process as a tool to enhance people's lives has led her to work with various vulnerable groups.

Frances also has extensive experience in teaching and leading creative workshops in the community and in recent years has enjoyed sharing her love of watercolour by teaching weekly classes and weekend workshops to inspire others.

Frances is now finding time to develop her own work in watercolour. She works outside initially, gathering information and making quick sketches before bringing things together in the studio. Although she will have a vision of how the finished painting might look she will go with the sometimes unexpected flow of the watercolour, often with exciting results. Frances uses a limited colour palette to create harmony and loose brush strokes to keep the painting lively. Resisting the urge to fiddle with perceived 'mistakes', she likes to make the most of happy accidents and her mantra for painting in watercolour is ‘less is more’. This approach to her work helps her to capture the gorgeous transparency so characteristic of watercolour and keeps her paintings fresh and bright.
Frances will be exhibiting a mixture of framed and mounted original watercolours and cards. She will also show a selection of artist books and display her sketchbooks and working materials.