Fran Alexander – Friday Night Guest – January 28, 2022
(submitted by Christine Luna)
Fran Alexander is a Vancouver, B.C. based painter with a a degree in Art Education at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1984. A major influence at that time was Canadian artist Gordon Smith. She spent three years teaching Inuit children in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, an experience that inspired a deep respect for the Canadian wilderness and influenced future works of polar bears and spirit bears.
Moving to Toronto, she continued to hone her technical skills and develop a deeply personal approach to image making. In 1997 she traveled to Europe to experience. museums and galleries of France and Germany, but Canada beckoned, and she returned to her native land to fully realize her calling as an artist.
Over the past several years, she has shown her paintings in respected B.C. galleries, has received numerous awards, and has been selected for several prestigious residencies. Fran is an Associate Signature Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. Her abstract and representational paintings are now included in private collections across the globe.
Fran’s presentation started with her process and philosophy for creating: Loosen Up, Be Intuitive, Be Nimble, Play, Experiment, Take Risks, Challenge Yourself, Reflect, Respond, React, Have Fun, Discover, Move, Paint Outside the Box. Fran demonstrated her technique by working on a large wood panel of a polar bear. She works on large wood panels (incorporating the wood grain into the painting) and large canvas, applying layers, dripping paint onto the canvas, moving the paint around the canvas, and scratching into the paint to create texture. She uses a wide variety of tools (e.g.: a large bowl scrapper to move paint around canvas), a limited color palette (favoring transparent paints), and gel and matte mediums (e.g.: Liquitex Matte Medium and Golden Heavy Gel Gloss). Constantly moving around the canvas either on the easel, table, or floor she strives to create art that is unique.
Thank you, Fran, for an exciting and informative presentation.
More about Fran at:
