Rachel is a contemporary mixed media artist. Her studio looks out over the Bristol Channel towards Wales and the Somerset coastline.
She initially studied Interior Design and gained an Honours Degree working for many years in this field. This has undoubtedly shaped the way she processes and formulates ideas for her paintings, particularly composition and the use of colour.
“My work is about my relationship with the landscape around me. An emotional response to its drama, beauty and rhythms. Evoking long held memories of the place I call home, paths and fields I have walked many times. Constant immersion in these familiar spaces will trigger an idea; a place to begin my work.”
“The places where the land, sea and sky interconnect and the tension and energy these natural intersections hold is a constant fascination to me. All these visual encounters create an ongoing library of gathered images in my head which together with photographs and sketchbook notes are used to develop my ideas.”
Rachel uses these images/memories and they take shape and gain energy intuitively finding a way to reveal themselves through her creative process and result in semi-abstract paintings ultimately fulfilling her need to respond emotionally to nature.
Rachel especially enjoys creating textures in her work through the building up of layers of acrylic paints and inks together with collage and various other media such as pencil, charcoal and pastel.
Each mark is made in response to the one before, a process of simplifying and abstracting, using finer and finer drawn lines to pull the shapes together and hold the feeling of the landscape within.
The layers give a depth and history to the work which is curated and distilled down to communicate the feeling and essence of a place.
My name is Rachel Francis and I am a contemporary mixed media artist.
Born in Bristol, my artistic focus was initially in design. After completing an Honours Degree in Interior Design in 1988 I worked successfully in this field for many years.
Feeling a need to re-connect with my creativity I began to paint full time and sold my work both privately and through a number of galleries.
An opportunity arose around this time which culminated in the opening of a small boutique B&B and glamping business which I ran for several years with my Husband.
Recent events led me to return to a full time creative practice and pursue my two passions, painting and gardening.
I have lived in Clevedon and the surrounding areas all my life and now spend my time in my studio at home or gardening and walking my dog along the coastal path, something which gives me joy and inspires my work.
