Frances ackland-snow Art is a powerful way to heal emotional pain and is a great outlet for self expression. I know this from my own personal experience drawing and painting always was, and still is my own outlet.
THE WORK OF FRANCES ACKLAND-SNOW IS FORGED FROM HER MEMORIES OF LANDSCAPES AND PLACES THAT HAVE TOUCHED HER. INSPIRED BY THE ELEMENTS, PARTICULARLY THE EVER-CHANGING TURBULENT ENGLISH SKIES, SHE EXPLORES THOSE FLEETING MOMENTS THAT MAKES YOU GASP WHEN THE LIGHT SHINES THROUGH THE CLOUDS. Frances loves to walk in the English landscape and to celebrate its beauty in all weathers, showing how it changes in the fog, in different lights, and with the passing seasons. Describing herself as a Romantic landscape artist she says: I am fearlessly romantic, nostalgic and passionate. I paint the emotions and memories I feel and the most important thing is that my works have integrity, a dramatic sky and that anyone can get lost in the landscape and create their own journey in the painting. Each painting has a personal story behind it so I can engage with the work emotionally creating a feeling of nostalgia.
Where the Wild Roses Grow I Varnished Original Painting on Box Board 36 X 18 Framed: 1,200
Where the Wind Blows Varnished Original Painting on Box Board 36 X 36 Framed: 1,950
Music is an intrinsic part of France s creative process. The act of putting paint onto the surface combined with playing music that has stirred her soul, has made painting a meditative and healing experience for her. Her choice of music is dictated by the atmosphere of a location and her own emotional response to it; to her, music is not a luxury, but a necessity, and the titles of her paintings are frequently drawn from song lyrics. She sees her own work as something of a contemporary twist on Turner, who used poetry to inspire him in much the same way as she uses music. Despite the emotive qualities of her work, there is nothing sweet or sentimental about Frances s paintings which have been described as Dark Romanticism. The passion and power she achieves through her vigorous brushwork, use of multilayered and textured paints and rich colour palette imbues her work with atmospheric strength and haunting mystery. She uses anything from traditional oils to spray paint to enamels; if it offers the colour or texture she is looking for, she will use it. She also frequently embellishes her work with copper filings or gold or bronze leaf. Pastures New Varnished Original Painting on Box Board, 36 X 18, Framed: 1,200
Under the Bridge Varnished Original Painting on Box Board 36 X 18 Framed: 1,200
River Flows in You Varnished Original Painting on Box Board 36 X 36 Framed: 1,950
Frances grew up in an extremely artistic world. Her childhood was populated by vast landscapes, life size dolls houses, magical kingdoms and the enchanted worlds of children s television. Her mother was a set designer for the BBC and her father owned one of the first ever scenery businesses for television and made the first Tardis for Dr Who. As a child Frances used to play inside models of Daleks, behind the scenes on East Enders sets or in the Blue Peter Garden. Frances completed a Fine Art Foundation Course at Oxford before specialising in painting at Brighton University where she achieved a first class degree in Fine Art Painting. Unsurprisingly, she herself became a scenic painter with the BBC, where her technical skill and flexibility of approach was honed under immense time pressures to fulfil the diverse creative visions of the directors on set. She went on to develop her career as a fine artist and has since enjoyed great commercial and critical success. Her work is widely exhibited across the UK and Europe and her paintings are in private collections around the world. Wild is the Wind Varnished Original Painting on Box Board, 36 X 18, Framed: 1,200
Willow Tree Varnished Original Painting on Box Board 30 X 24 Framed: 1,350
Frances has had a long connection with The Prince s Trust which auctions her paintings annually to raise money at major events. She has also been a Prince s Trust mentor for young people leaving care and has run an art workshop to build relationships with foster children and their foster carers. As Artist in Residence at a School in Maidenhead she runs projects bridging gaps in the community with young offenders, special needs and secondary school children using the Arts, as well as being in charge of the community art workshops for Art on the Street where pre teenage Arts Award boys run workshops for younger children in the community. Kiss the Rain Varnished Original Painting on Box Board, 18 X 9, Framed: 695