Fran Greene

My current processes are a result of an accident in my 3rd year of my Art Degree. Oil paint mixed with white spirits, that I was initially using for a thick painted work fell onto so paper I had on the floor, I watched as it transformed together in a corrosive state and then it dried into a state o...

My current processes are a result of an accident in my 3rd year of my Art Degree. Oil paint mixed with white spirits, that I was initially using for a thick painted work fell onto so paper I had on the floor, I watched as it transformed together in a corrosive state and then it dried into a state of beauty. I’ve been hooked ever since. I have been trying to master this technique over the last few years, pushing and pushing the boundaries of textural directions within landscape. Creating scenes where imagery overlaps in ghostly tones. To simplify, it’s perhaps using oil paint like watercolour with the white spirits substituting the water. I’ve found there are so many subtleties involved between balancing and mixing the paints and spirits into certain viscosities choosing different types of papers using the endless amount of mark making all the while weaving in and out of chance choices unknown gestural movements of my hands, trance like looseness and ultimately deciding when to stop and when to realise it’s finished form.
I was longlisted for the RHA award for my piece in my last college exhibition, which went on to be purchased by Carlow IT itself (where I studied for my Degree).
I took part in a group exhibition held in Wexford County Council in 2019 which was called ‘From the Mountain’ and was curated by Catherine Bowe.