I have enjoyed a return to figurative work, investigating the ways that the body, or parts of it, can convey different emotions, like hope, or despair.

One focus is on finding tranquility within the subject. I have found that regular life drawing has fired my thirst, and also working outdoors as well as the more contemplative surrounding of my studio in St Etheldreda’s church.

I love the immediacy of working from life, capturing the essence and physicality of the body’s form with use of gestural mark-making; sometimes using oil bars which can have a rhythm and speed for creating. I aim to give a sense of the person, and also my own state of mind – whether positive or negative at that moment.

My art work has been based on my perceptions, with a focus on form and colour.

Frances's Website: www.francesmartin.co.uk