Frances Steele painting

I am a painter based in Hackney, East London. At present I mainly produce works on paper which are a response to the atmosphere of wild places and the sea.

 

I paint sometimes remote, wild places and sometimes the ever changing seas that I discover on my travels. For me painting is primarily about recreating the atmosphere of a place, particularly if the weather is miserable or the light unusual. I suppose I respond best to softly lit northern land and seascapes with their undertone of melancholy and timelessness. Autumn fog, drizzle, cold winter light and pale rosy dawns are all able to give a landscape that elusive quality which excites me.

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I am fascinated by colour theory and by the incredible sensitivity of the human eye to how paint is applied. For each painting I apply many layers of often translucent pigment mixed with medium to stretched paper, teasing out subtle differences in texture as I go. Making my own paint allows me to vary its thickness and sometimes even rewet it once dried. Occasionally I apply the powdered directly.

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I will make simple sketches or take photographs of a particular landscape that inspires, but for me these are just a starting point – once the painting is underway I am only really interested in the world of the paint rather than a representation of the landscape.