Imaginings 1 & 2. 

Here I enjoyed flirting with layers of paint to create an abstract image that would invite the viewer to imagine, see things, stay a while and contemplate.

Silk Purse

Can the work of the artist's hand increase the value of a worthless object? Just a bit of fun. Experimenting with new materials, mark making and pulling out the fantasy.

'Cream in my Coffee'

With echoes of Hieronymus Bosch, only cuter, this imixed media drawing teases out the fantasy from the random lines made by the cream floating on the top of a cup of coffee. My work nearly always has elements of the everyday and the imagination in it, and this work references the idea of daydreaming, looking up at the clouds, or reading horoscopes in a teacup. It explores the play between fantasy and reality that we all engage in during our waking day.

The brief our group of artists was given, during the Arts Festival week, was to transform the staff dining room, with contemporary artwork, into an exhibition, by working directly onto the walls.

Visual diary 2016

I love to draw. My drawings hover between observational drawings, capturing life around me, and automatic drawing where imagination births on the page. I allow pattern and memory to creep into the work using the dyed splashes and the negative spaces as the playground upon which to build intuitive patterns, or out worldish creatures. The result is an interesting mix of reality and fantasy. I have enjoyed encouraging my grandsons to draw in this book, and then drawing into and around their work, creating an interesting conversation between their work and mine. 

I am a member of the alumni group, Kankan Collective. We are all Fine Art graduates. This January we held our debut group exhibition. We had some sales, made good contacts and have a future exhibition opportunity pending, at Wellington College. We have been invited back in January 2017. All very exciting.

Farnborough Grange Nursery and Infants School

The children and parents enjoyed 'The Big Draw' on Friday 24th October 2014.

After two days of drawing the children began to discover imaginary creatures in the random lines and the drawings are charming. I am in the process of putting together a collaboration of my illustrations and the childrens pictures. Here are a few to tempt you back to see the end result.

"The children enjoyed the drama related to the picture that we explored. Fran engaged the children, igniting their imaginations." Mrs Burton (Reception class teacher)

"The cildren were encouraged to use their imagination to create pictures from what began as just a few black lines. They amazed me with what they were able to create and produced some fantastic imaginary creatures." Mrs Wellman

"I liked the doggie flying in the sky." Hugo age 4

"I liked pretending to be the Gazoonkas" Ryan, age 5

"I liked making up my own story to go with the picture." Josh, age 6

"It was spectacular and special" Harry, age 8

"It was fun creating characters out of doodles." India, age 9

"It was amazing to see how the most awesome pictures could appear from the simplest squiggles." Abby, age 9

"A unique way of drawing that came to life" Rosie, age 9

"Fran helped our imaginations come to life." Jos, aged 10

"It was brilliant that everyone could draw Gazoonkas successfully!" Milly, age 10

"Gazoonka sketching is an excellent way to warm up your brain." Tommy, age 10

"Fran taught us how to see everyday objects with different eyes." Annabel, age 11

"Fran taught us that art can come from anything." Isabella, age 11