About
Frances Ross is a graduate of Brighton Polytechnic where she studied Fine Art (Painting) after doing a Foundation Course at Portsmouth College of Art. During her time at Brighton she worked as a studio assistant for the constructivist artist Gillian Wise.
Although a career in fine art had to be put on hold for many years Frances attended many classes including painting, ceramics and life drawing.
Frances’s main inspiration comes from a love of colour field and abstract expressionist paintings. Music, choreography and poetry play a huge part as does a fascination with meditation, thought patterns and words.
Her paintings have sold in Canada and the UK and have been selected for open calls nationally in group exhibitions. She will be exhibiting in group shows in St Ives and Leeds in the summer this year.
Frances was born in Derbyshire but has lived all over England as well as the Sultanate of Oman and Canada. She currently lives in North Yorkshire.
Statement
My paintings are non objective and explore different combinations of colour to create an enigmatic and rhythmical presence inspired by choreography, music and poetry.
My main intention is to express a visual stream of consciousness through colour and line to encourage conscious and subconscious thoughts and evoke emotions and memories.
I work on a series of paintings at a time over several months in a process of call and response: adding, removing and editing. The final composition comes towards the end of the painting. My fascination is primarily with how we see colour differently according to its relation to another. I hope to make the observer feel something rather than to curate a reaction. I aim to create joyful paintings sometimes underpinned with an element of discord or unease
Upcoming Exhibitions
Coles Gallery, Leeds ‘ Chroma” July 2022
Barnoon Art Gallery, St Ives ’Paint’ 18-29th July 2022
Selected Exhibitions and Open Calls
2022
Jacksons Painting Prize 2022 long listed
Surface Gallery, Nottingham Abstract Contemporary
D31 Gallery Doncaster March 2022 open call
2021
Fronteer Gallery Sheffield open call
Fronteer Gallery Sheffield Abstract open call
Brighton Polytechnic BA Hons Fine Art
Studio Assistant to Gillian Wise
Portsmouth College of Art – Foundation
