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ABOUT FRANCES
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BORN IN ARMIDALE (NSW) IN 1965, AUSTRALIAN ARTIST FRANCES McMAHON HAS BEEN PAINTING BIRDS SINCE AGE FIVE
Indeed, it was at this tender age that she firmly decided that she was going to paint birds and since then has had an undying and passionate obsession in capturing the beauty of our Australian native species.
Her astonishingly detailed paintings are masterfully and painstakingly created using the tiniest of brushes, with some details so fine they may only be seen with a magnifying glass. She is entirely self-taught and mainly uses reference material of her own.
A two-time winner of the prestigious Holmes Prize for Excellence in Realistic Australian Bird Art, her work continues to garner attention and win prizes both locally and internationally. She was commissioned by Australia Post to illustrate a series of four stamps featuring rare and endangered birds and has been granted membership and title of Art Renewal Centre Associate Living Master (ARCALM).
She has lived in Canberra most of her life.
Since turning professional in 2021, her career has gone from strength to strength, with her commissioned works hanging in private collections in Australia, New York, Minnesota, Kansas and Ontario, Canada.
Her original paintings are exclusively represented by Morpeth Gallery, NSW, Australia.
TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS
Please refer to my dedicated page in the FAQ section of this website for information about my working process and materials.
OTHER HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
Frances enjoys many other interests and hobbies in life. Between 2002 and 2015 she was a competitive adult figure skater, skating in competitions both locally and nationally.
After retirement from skating, Frances returned to Classical Guitar studies in 2014 (after a 27 year hiatus), and in 2015/2016 she passed both 6th and 7th grade AMEB practical exams with Honours. She also performed at the Melbourne International Guitar Festival and Competition (Advanced Division), taught at a local primary school, participated in summer schools; busked at local shopping centres and was conductor for The Canberra Classical Guitar Ensemble for one year.
Although not studying music anymore (devoting more time to her art) with her adored husband Mark (a renowned professional classical guitarist in his own right), she feels life has come full circle in happiness.
She also thoroughly enjoys bird photography whilst bushwalking, reading, sewing, cooking and spending time with her children, who are now all young adults.
ARTIST STATEMENT
"For almost as long as I can remember, birds have been a subject of fascination and beauty for me. The desire to paint them is not only something I do for my own pleasure, but to share with the viewer the wonder and joy I have experienced in both the observation and painting.
It never ceases to amaze me, in spite of many years' painting, how little I know about the birds themselves and the capricious nature of watercolour!
I hope in some small way to open the eyes of the viewer into a world where one may pause for a moment to enjoy the wonders of the natural world and our avian friends with whom we share the planet."
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