Born in Cambridge, Fran was educated at Cranbourne Chase School, Wardour Castle, near Tisbury, Wiltshire.

Her creative journey began in 1970 at the age of 19, when a friend taught her how to develop and print black-and-white photographs. This initial spark led to a career as a photographer’s assistant and later as a photographic stylist, sourcing props for editorial and advertising photo shoots — a role that fuelled her curiosity for composition, texture, and storytelling through visual means.

This deep engagement with material and image naturally evolved into her own entrepreneurial venture: running a linen hire business and later commissioning woven linen fabrics from mills in Ireland, Scotland, and Belgium for trade and retail. Her linens found their way into interiors, fashion, and even film — featuring in Mr Turner, Mr Holmes, and Bright Star. In 1999, she established The Linen Shop, which she ran successfully for over two decades before turning her full attention to painting. Fran is now a full-time artist and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

Working from her light-filled home studio, Fran explores a contemporary abstract practice that is both experimental and materially driven. She works across media — acrylic, graphite, collage, and fabric — on a variety of supports, including her own woven linens. Her work embodies a spirit of inquiry, where process, chance, and intuition play key roles in shaping outcomes.

During the 2020–2021 lockdowns, Fran immersed herself in a period of intensive research, experimentation, and creative reinvention. Through visual journals, the Pure Foundation “Back to Basics” programme, and a collaborative Zoom artists’ group led by Rowena McWilliams at Smallhythe Studio, she deepened her exploration of form, surface, and mark-making.

Inspired by the constraints of isolation, Fran developed a fascination with repurposing and transformation — revisiting and reworking earlier pieces to generate new ideas and visual dialogues. This cyclical, reflective approach continues to inform her practice today, as she seeks innovative ways to merge the tactile and the conceptual, the past and the present.

Fran has documented much of this ongoing evolution in her journal, the first printed edition of which is now available to view and read HERE.

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