FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

PLEASE NOTE: COMMISSIONS FOR 2027 ARE BOOKED OUTWHY PURCHASE AN ORIGINAL or COMMISSIONED PAINTING?Original paintings are a unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade creation. No two are identical.Every painting tells a story, which gives the viewer a personal connection to my artistic inspiration and lifelong journey.My original artworks are steadily increasing in value over time as my reputation grows and business expands. As the client, you have total control. Size, background colour, species of bird and composition can all easily be "tweaked" to your exact specifications.Original works are painted using 100% museum grade archival materials and pigments that have withstood my rigorous 2 year lightfast test (please see FAQ regarding my lightfast testing below).Under proper framing and display conditions, original paintings will last centuries! Giclée prints will last decades.NONE of my paintings are created using AI (artificial intelligence) in any way whatsoever. From taking my own photos to the final signature, you will receive work that is a cumulation of over 55 years' practice and dedication from my own hands. LET'S GET STARTED!In line with standard practice, my fees for original paintings and commissions are calculated per square centimetre of actual artwork. This ensures clients receive an accurate and consistent quote prior to commencement of painting.Regardless of original paintings being purchased through me directly (as a private commission) or though Morpeth Gallery, clients always pay exactly the same for the (unframed) work. ARTWORK FEESFor artwork that utilises a fair amount of airbrushing: $3.60 AUD per square centimetre.This is because airbrushing is a relatively quick process, therefore the overall time to complete a painting is significantly less, as there is less surface area remaining for painting.For artwork that has NO (or under 10% surface area) airbrushing: $6.00 AUD per square centimetre.This is because artworks mainly "brushed in" take significantly longer, often double the time for a similarly-sized work created with an airbrushed background.To keep everything simple and tidy, BOTH these artwork rates factor in and FULLY INCLUDE :Research of the species and habitatPhotography of the birds and habitat which will be used as referenceMock-up of the composition using basic editing softwareClient liaisonMasking and airbrushingPaints and materialsActual painting time ADDITIONAL COSTSFraming, freight and insurance are additional costs payable by the client. However, I am happy to provide and post artwork unframed.Photo LicensingThe majority of my work uses photos taken by me. However, occasionally I may need to source and obtain permission to use other reference photos not taken my me. Photo permissions and licenses usually require payment, the cost of which will be added to the overall commission price.THE LEGAL STUFFOnce composition and size of the commission are to the client's satisfaction, a contract will then be sent, which must be signed by both client and artist prior to commencement. A 25% non-refundable deposit (of the unframed artwork total) is required. Please contact me directly for any further information.

MANY PEOPLE HAVE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN HOW I CREATE MY ARTWORKS.The following demonstration shows my entire process.It all starts with a good reference photo. I've recently purchased an amazing Sony Alpha 1 digital camera which fires 30 frames per second at 50 megapixels per image. Birds rarely sit still for long, so equipment such as this is essential for the serious bird artist.REFERENCE PHOTOSYou can see how tiny the blue wren is among the background. The other photos show close-ups of greenery which I will add to the overall composition.MATERIALSWinsor and Newton artist’s quality watercolour and gouache• Titanium White (gouache) • Cadmium Lemon • Manganese Blue Hue • Winsor Blue (Green shade) • Winsor Blue (Red shade) • Ultramarine • Indanthrene Blue • May Green (Custom Mix) • Sap Green • Chromium Oxide Green • Perylene Green • Mauve Mist (Custom mix) • Raw Umber • Van Dyke Brown • Sepia • Jet Black (Gouache) FOR AIRBRUSHING• Opaque white • Yellow medium azo • Warm grey • Raw umber • Burnt umber • Sepia OTHER MATERIALS• Sony A1 camera with 200-600mm zoom (not shown)• Laptop Computer (not shown)• Samsung mobile with S Pen (not shown)• Reference photos• A.S. Handover Size 2, 1, 0, 00 and 000 sable brushes • .02 and .03 mechanical pencils• Tracing paper• Frisket film• Scalpel size 11• Kneadable eraser• Masking fluid• 8 Ply Rising museum board• Iwata Airbrush STEP ONE : COMPOSITIONAL IDEASMy mobile phone with the S Pen is the perfect small canvas for quick ideas. Looking at the photos on my laptop, I can quickly sketch ideas onto the phone screen with the S Pen. In this instance, I had a strong idea of what the composition was going to be when selecting the best photos to work from, so only a few sketches were needed. STEP TWO : PHOTO MOCK-UPI certainly won’t win any awards for photo editing, but that’s perfectly fine. All I’m interested in at this stage is the composition of the elements. I’ve used the “rule of thirds” to place the wren’s head two thirds from the top edge and one third from the left edge. The wren was sitting on a branch I thought was a little thin in width, so I’ve etched him out and placed him on a larger branch with the greenery. The foreground sprig of green is superimposed from another reference photo.The beauty of using a photo editing program is that size changes, angles, transparency and position are very easy to change. I always remember to save and name each new compositional idea as a separate file as on many occasions it’s a “toss up” between compositional ideas! STEP THREE : TRANSFER to MUSEUM BOARD and MASKINGUsing tracing paper, the wren has been transferred to museum board. The transfer process leaves a rather inaccurate mark, so, using a kneaded eraser, I carefully lift the traced lines and redraw using a .02mm mechanical pencil. Although I’m really drawing the image twice, I can correct small errors I missed in the initial drawing stage.Watercolour is non-correcting and very unforgiving, so it’s imperative to get this stage correct.Once the pencil outline is completed, a sheet of frisket masking film is carefully laid over the entire surface. Using a sharp no.11 scalpel, the mask is cut out, leaving the negative spaces in readiness for airbrushing.You can see in the picture, that the slightly DARKER areas are where the frisket film is covering the image.  STEP FOUR : AIRBRUSHING COMPLETEDWanting to keep the background in warmer colours, I’ve airbrushed various mixes of liquid acrylic in white, yellow medium azo, pale grey, transparent raw umber, transparent burnt umber and sepia. These colours are applied from lightest to darkest value, blending on the board. I considered airbrushing in shades of green, but decided to use warmer browns to enhance the blue plumage of the wren. Once airbrushing is completed, the masking film is carefully removed using the tip of a scalpel, ready for painting!There are two choices when airbrushing. I use either liquid acrylic or liquid watercolour.Both mediums have their advantages and disadvantages:Liquid acrylic clogs the airbrush more readily, but you are left with a more durable, waterproof surface, ideal for brushwork over the top.Liquid watercolour sprays beautifully but is prone to water and splash marks. I chose to use liquid acrylic because there wasn’t a large surface to cover. STEP FIVE : PAINTING COMMENCESHe’s starting to come to life already! Being right-handed, I usually work from left to right. Sections of the plant that overlap the branch and the lower portion of the bird have been masked with liquid mask. This must be applied in a thin a layer as possible, as removal of thick layers will tear the surface.Now the watercolour can be applied. Using my favourite muted grey mix of cerulean and cadmium red, the dead branch is worked using both 00 and 000 size brushes. I’ll employ a range of greys and browns to build up depth and form, with Sepia, Van Dyke Brown and Jet Black gouache the predominant shadow colours. For the wren’s blue cap, cheek patches and mantle, I’ve used mainly Manganese Blue Hue. This is a lovely transparent blue. Feather details and moulding are done with Winsor Blue (Green shade).I’m not afraid to use black! It adds “oomph” to the work. However, my application of black is tempered with other colours. For the black back of the wren, I’ve painted over the initial black with highlights consisting of a mix of white gouache and ultramarine blue to suggest the light hitting the feathers. The tail is a primarily ultramarine, indanthrene and Payne’s grey finished with small white gouache highlights.FINISHED! SPRING HAS SPRUNG (Superb Fairy-wren)2025 | 19 x 27cmWatercolour, liquid acrylic and gouache on 8 ply museum boardAvailable as a beautiful greeting card and open edition giclée print through this website.

Frances' artworks are created primarily in watercolour with small touches of opaque gouache.Backgrounds are airbrushed using either liquid acrylic or watercolour. Using the tiniest of brushes (size 000), her elaborate paintings may take around 13 to 300 hours to complete. Many of the details are so fine they may only be seen with a magnifying glass.Her technique is relatively straightforward: an initial pale wash of colour is overlaid with tiny strokes of darker colour to build up form. Tiny white highlights with gouache are used sparingly. For example: the highlight in the eyes or feather quills.Ensuring the longevity of her work, only the highest quality professional artist materials are used. Only pigments that have withstood Frances' rigorous 2 year lightfast test are considered. For the last decade or so, she has used 2000gsm (8 ply) Rising museum board as the substrate. From September 2026 onwards, she will now be painting on SAUNDERS WATERFORD 640gsm Hot Press (High White) which is mounted on 4ply (1000gsm) Museum Board.Saunders Waterford is a 100% cotton, acid and lignin-free, archival and superbly fine surface which captures all her astonishing detail. The reasons for the change are, namely, that museum board isn't designed for watercolour application and isn't sized, meaning watercolour washes sink in rapidly, and may look a little duller than on sized paper. The surface is also exceptionally fragile, tearing very easily when removing masking film or fluid.Using archival materials, Frances mounts each Saunders Waterford sheet to a matching-sized sheet of 4 ply (approximately 1000gsm) museum board for extra rigidity and strength. This is an archival quality board, buffered against acid migration and deterioration and contains no optical brighteners.All original paintings are professionally framed to the highest conservation standards, using archival quality 100% cotton matting with either museum glass, UV glass or perspex for glazing, which cuts out between 70% to 99% of damaging ultra-violet rays.

LIMITED EDITION GICLÉE PRINTS A giclée print is the closest duplication of an artwork that is physically possible. The word “giclée” is a French term, which when translated means “to squirt out”. It refers to the way an inkjet printer works – squirting or spraying the ink when printing artwork.Are limited to a small press run of under 40 individual prints. Once the quota of prints is sold, no more prints of that size will be produced. This increases their value.All prints are individually signed and numbered by the artist.A Certificate of Authenticity is included with every print.To assist with framing, a generous border of white surrounds the image. The artist's signature and numbering will be written within this border. With a few exceptions, the artwork is reproduced at 100% (same size) as the original painting.The original painting is professionally scanned at an astonishing 600dpi and colour-corrected. This may be a lengthy process, as watercolour naturally employs delicate tints that are not easily replicated.Limited edition giclée prints are ALL PRINTED on Canson Infinity Edition Etching 310gsm; a superb archival, acid free 100% cotton rag with no optical brighteners added. OPEN EDITION GICLÉE PRINTSAre not limited to a small press runs.Are not individually signed and numbered by the artist.A Certificate of Authenticity is not included.The image may be slightly cropped to fit the aspect ratios of "A" size frames.Although all original paintings are professionally scanned at an astonishing 600dpi, images selected to be reproduced as open edition giclée prints are not colour-corrected during the scanning process. However, the differences in colour-matching are barely, if at all detectable from the original work.Open edition giclée prints are ALL PRINTED on Canson Infinity Edition Etching 310gsm; a superb archival, acid free 100% cotton rag with no optical brighteners added. This is the identical material as the limited edition prints!For these reasons listed above, open edition giclée prints are slightly less expensive than their limited edition counterparts.OPEN EDITION PRINTS Are printed in unlimited numbers, often in the thousands.They are printed via offset lithography, using paper of any degree of weight or quality.Are not printed via the giclée printing process.Are not signed and numbered by the artist.They do not come with a Certificate of Authenticity. The only open edition print I have for sale on this website is Waiting For The Rains (Eastern Rosellas). Other examples of open edition prints are those that may be purchased through print on demand websites such as RedBubble.

There seems to be a collective impression that watercolour is fugitive, wishy-washy and prone to fading. This is an UNTRUE and absolutely false assumption! Indeed, some pigments are fugitive, but the discerning artist will be educated in the chemical components of the pigments they use and choose wisely. As a professional artist, using top quality paints of the highest possible lightfastness is absolutely imperative. There are various ways that lightfastness is rated, from the "blue wool scale" to the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials). However, for many technical reasons that there isn't space to explore or explain here, the best lightfast test is the one you conduct yourself. Over the course of 2 years, I conducted my own lightfast test using EVERY paint, liquid acrylic and liquid watercolour I currently own. THE RESULTS ARE NOW IN! Please see the results pages below this one in FAQ ↓

Over the course of 2 years, I conducted my own lightfast test using EVERY watercolour I currently own. Every pigment was painted onto acid-free watercolour paper in four strengths. This is because masstone (the highest concentration) of some pigments may prove lightfast, while weaker dilutions may fail, or vice versa. Each sample was sliced vertically through the centre to create both a test strip and a control. The test strip was placed in a north-facing window (which received as much direct sunlight as possible) for 2 years continually, being checked at regular intervals of 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. All control strips were placed in a black cardboard envelope, sealed, and put in a drawer for 2 years. The test was conducted from January 2023 to January 2025. The results were amazing. Of all my watercolours, only a few had faded slightly. These being: Cadmium Free Yellow Pale faded in dilution only after 2 years. I bought this colour as a safer alternative to genuine cadmium to use in an airbrush. I've never used this colour. Interestingly, Cadmium Free Lemon was superbly lightfast. This is why artists must do their own testing! Olive Green seemed to lose the yellow component of the mixture. I suspect PY65 is the culprit. Buff Titanium was a surprise. Made from the usually inert Titanium white. Slight discolouration. Jet Black Gouache. Wonderful in masstone, faded in dilutions. PBk1 is unstable. Art Spectrum Spectrum Deep Red Liquid Acrylic contains the disastrous PR170. Marketed as ASTM 1. Started to fade after 3 months. Pigments that are lightfast over 2 years have proven their stripes and should remain in their inert, lightfast state for centuries, particularly if the original work is framed with UV protecting glaze and museum quality matting. NOTE: The centre strip appears to be slightly lighter. This is due to the natural fading of the PAPER that was used after being in a north-facing window for 2 years. ↓ PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ALL EIGHT PAGES OF RESULTS ↓

Over the course of 2 years, I conducted my own lightfast test using the pigments I airbrush with. These include Schmincke AquaDrop, Schmincke Liquid Acrylic, Liquitex and Amsterdam liquid acrylic. Every pigment was painted onto acid-free watercolour paper in four strengths. This is because masstone (the highest concentration) of some pigments may prove lightfast, while weaker dilutions may fail, or vice versa. Each sample was sliced vertically through the centre to create both a test strip and a control. The test strip was placed in a north-facing window (which received as much direct sunlight as possible) for 2 years continually, being checked at regular intervals of 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. All control strips were placed in a black cardboard envelope, sealed, and put in a drawer for 2 years. The test was conducted from January 2023 to January 2025. The results were a real eye-opener. Of all my other watermedia, most held up beautifully over 2 years, with only a few disasters. These colours, fortunately, were rarely used and have since been discarded. Amber, Olive Green, Indian Yellow, Gold Ochre, Olive Green and Brown Brazil all started to fade after 3 months, progressively getting worse over time. The culprit is PY83. Aqua Drop Vermilion Red, containing PR112 often marketed as "lightfast" by manufacturers, is extremely unstable. Neutral Grey faded to mauve. This is surprising, as the component pigments are all extremely lightfast. This highlights the importance of home testing. Pigments that are lightfast over 2 years have proven their stripes and should remain in their inert, lightfast state for centuries, particularly if the original work is framed with UV protecting glaze and museum quality matting. NOTE: The centre strip appears to be slightly lighter. This is due to the natural fading of the PAPER that was used after being in a north-facing window for 2 years. ↓ PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ALL EIGHT PAGES OF RESULTS ↓

I only paint in watercolour.Watercolour has been my first love for decades. Although it's probably more accurate to say I paint in watermedia. The main body of work is watercolour, but I will use touches of white gouache (for small highlights) with airbrushed backgrounds that are either watercolour or liquid acrylic.Watercolour, gouache and liquid acrylic are all water soluble, which categorises them as watermedia.YES! I do paint other subjects!Birds are my favourite subjects to paint, but I am happy to take on pet portraits or other subjects. Please contact me directly for further enquiries.

I'm incredibly flattered that many artists and members of the public ask if I teach. Thank you for such amazing support. However, I'm not offering classes at the moment. The main reason is that I really need precious time to focus on creating my paintings. The work is incredibly slow and time-consuming and there are always more paintings that need to be finished yesterday! Furthermore, because the work is very detailed and intricate, I feel that online lessons wouldn't really be of value to the student simply because of the limitations of resolution via a screen. To set up high-resolution cameras to "hone in" on what I'm doing is something I really don't have time or resources to do. My technique is also painfully slow. An hour lesson would only cover the "how to" of painting a small eye! At the end of the day, art is really something you teach your self though many hours of practice, inspiration from the work of others and a sheer love of the subject.

ALL images on this website (including the "bird and brush" logo) are strictly protected by international copyright law. No image on this website may be used for commercial or non-commercial purposes without prior written permission, a licensing contract and payment of royalties or fees to Frances McMahon. Images must NOT be downloaded, copied, printed, saved, used on websites, transferred or reproduced in any way in any medium without written permission from Frances McMahon. For further terms and conditions, please read the TERMS and LEGAL page on this website.