Andrew Francis

Puncheston Common

2017

Acrylic on canvas Signed and framed

Abstract expressionist floral work from the garden of Susan Bleakley. In her paintings of flowers colour and texture are highlighted and vibrant, Susan spends hours perfecting the fo...

'Towards Le Scathe Cove'. Contemporary mixed media landscape painting, Cornwall Original Artwork, Unframed _________________ January morning, heavy swell and a strong southwester, rain imminent, sheltering beneath lichen furred granite outcrops. A plein air painting from the series 'Holan ha Dor' (Meaning 'Salt and Earth in Cornish). West Cornwall is a harshly beautiful peninsula, jutting out into the wild tireless ocean, shaped and moulded by powerful salt laden Atlantic winds, and criss-crossed by ancient, tangled hedgerows. Drawn to the immediacy of moments, underpinned by enduring narratives, Sophia's fluid expressive paintings explores the flux and balance in the nature of all things: The freedom of the air and solidity of the soil; Of anchored stone and rhythmic water; Of human narratives written in the wild landscapes; In the sensual interplay of light and shadow. They capture an essence of the equilibrium between wild raw energy and serene stillness; chaos and harmony; and the enduring and the effervescent. Mixed media on watercolour paper Signed and inscribed Unframed 23 x 30cm / 9 x 12 inches __________________________ About The Artist Sophia Milligan is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist, exploring discourses on permanence & evanescence; the eternal, cyclical absolutes of birth & death; motherhood & childhood; and ancient immutable connections. With resonating ripples of intuition and instinct Sophia illuminates the presence of the ordinary, creating moments of sublime present. 'Born among the wild cliffs and tempestuous seas of west Cornwall, I grew with the intimate details in the twisting lanes and the intense changing light throughout the turbulent seasons. I formed a primordial connection with a deep instinctual sense of being part of the natural narrative, and wherever in the world I may be, this connectivity underpins my practice. Like the wind sculpted hawthorns and sensual coves of weather worn granite, I have been shaped by the powerful energy entwined in this ancient raw environment.’ ‘We are the stories of the journeys that came before. I weave into my work the tales of transitory circumstance; of struggle and survival; of forms and textures holding records of evolutionary millennia. I paint, I draw: with marks, mixtures, photography, words; the raw earth; the restless oceans; the whispered breeze. I work with time, and the immeasurable spaces of experience within, giving subtleties of existence a pause for contemplation. There is beauty in such poignant breaths. All moments are significant, every pebble of now forms the vast mountain of yesterday, and the great realm of tomorrow's possibilities'. Sophia has a 1st class honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Visual Arts and World History, and a Masters Degree in Contemporary Visual Arts. Her work is held in prestigious international private collections, and exhibitions of her interactive, immersive installation, photography and mixed media works include 'Tabula Rasa', London; 'Superlative', Plymouth; 'Transition', Newlyn; The Eden Project, Cornwall; The European Parliament, Brussels; Kew Gardens, London; and 'The Cameraless Film Festival', Chicago...

This abstract landscape, painted in acrylic and pastel on linen, is dominated by flowing trees with exaggerated, curving branches. The form of the trees are dynamic and organic, and ...