Frances Clark-Stone And in the Silence

Artist's statement

I am a visual artist working in oil and pastel. I aim to create a narrative in which the viewer may place themselves. Inspiration comes from dreams, experiences and relationships with both people and places. Everyday places become extraordinary in moments of awareness, feeling, mood. Buyers and followers describe my work as magical or spellbinding and often find a feeling of vulnerability in the paintings which contain figures, or a stillness in the place based ones. The drama of the moment is what I aim to convey. Some pieces start with notes on my phone, photo references, rough sketches. Others stem from memories or dreams queued in my mind for long periods, which I visit in my imagination, playing around until I've worked out how to turn them into paintings.

 

Working in layers I use techniques from textile making, creating pattern and texture in the early stages that may reappear at a later stage when the painting is further developed. I use a combination of oil paint, oil bars, cold wax and oil pastel, usually over a period of weeks so that each layer can dry. For the soft pastels, fixative and a liquifying medium increases flexibility, allowing a build up of texture and accidental pattern.

 

Having studied art history I am influenced by a wide range of art. However my style, which some have described as magic realism, is most strongly influenced by impressionism, post impressionism and fauvism as well as some illustrative artists working today.