Francoise Antras

I have made art from childhood and studied an Art Foundation course at Maidstone College of Art after which I went on to complete a BA (Hons) Fine Art at what is now Staffordshire University.
For many years I used my artistic skills working with people with learning and physical disabilities, sensory impairments and mental health issues as a means to enjoy their own artistic expression and the therapeutic benefits of making art. I also spent many years working wth a semi-professional theatre painting backdrops and making props.
After completing an MA in Fine Art at UCA, Canterbury in 2020 I returned to making my own art on a more full-time basis and emerging into the art world.
I have a mainly drawing based practice; as a contemporary expressionist artist, I also use painting, printmaking and 3D techniques in my work using a variety of mediums, most often working with charcoal, pastels, graphite and an eraser for drawings, and oils and waterbased paints in painted pieces. Etching and Lithography were an important part of my early printmaking practice; I currently focus on dry point engravings and Lino cut techniques. The themes are mainly figurative with occasional ventures into abstraction.
My work is led by an intuitive expression, motivated by the murmurings that come from the unconscious mind and driven by a variety of subjects including nature, mythology, spirituality, psychology and the enhancement of emotional well being. It is a means for me to express my own journey of self-growth, with my aim being to enable the observer to access emotions that connect them with their higher self.
Recent pieces have been concerned with the expression of connecting with my Inner Child, the aspect of ourselves that expresses our true nature, our intuition and it's wider connection with the natural world.