Details

First Name	Frances
Last Name	Ryan
Username	francesryan
Website	http://Www.littlepinkdog.com
Region	Stirling & Forth Valley
Disciplines	Drawing, Painting, Printmaking
Themes	Abstract, Botanical, Environment, Identity, Portraits, Narratives

Statement

I explore found histories and conjoined identities. My work has been described as poetic and emotional and often revolves around characters both real and imagined, bringing a narrative to life to tell their story and highlight both weakness and strength.

I work mainly with Collage and Mark Making and find that collage has it’s own agenda; the seemingly random pairing of images and ephemera always brings something unintended and adds another layer to the characters and narrative. The mark making is more emotive, expressive and direct, this can be mindful and delicate as well as sometimes visceral and disturbing and comes not only with the marks made by pencils, charcoal, paint brushes and graphite, but also with the cut of the scissors. For me collage always brings an element of surprise to the work.

Biography

Frances Ryan, Scottish Artist from Denny, Stirlingshire

Frances studied Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone college of Art and Design, Dundee and at Edinburgh College of Art, she works in collage using found images, vintage ephemera and mark making. In this world saturated with images, collage brings a focus on looking, on finding hidden narratives, on connected histories and shared experiences.

Frances has exhibited in Scotland, London, Belgium and the USA. She has won awards in 2001 (RSA student printmaker of the year) in 2019 (Visual Arts Scotland, Studio Faire Residency Award) and she has also been selected for several open exhibitions both online and actual and has been an award winner in a Kanyer Art Collection online open competition and has work in their ‘Contemporary Collage’ collection in the USA.