FRAN LEE
Prints/Copperplate Etchings and Paintings/Oil on wood.
MFA in Printmaking , School of the Art Institute of Chicago
BA in Art History, Kalamazoo College
Creative Director, Art Director, Graphic Designer, Illustrator: Fran-Lee.com

Included in shows @: Printworks Gallery, Chicago, IL, Bite Studio, Portland, OR, Froelick Gallery, Portland, OR, Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA, Cannon Beach Art Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR, Rock Creek Helzer Gallery, Portland, OR, Firecat Projects, Chicago, IL, Guardino Gallery, Portland, OR

Recent Shows:

Guardino Gallery
September 2020
2939 NE Alberta St
Portland, OR

26th Parkside National Print Exhibition

April 1 – June 30, 2019

Univeristy of Wisconsin, Parkside

Bite Studio
Feb 1 – Feb 3, 2019
Feb 3 – Feb 5, 2023

Portland, OR

Green Acres Farm Sanctuary
Art For The Animals Fundraiser

November 10, 2018 • 7-9pm 

Finger Bang, Portland, OR

Firecat Projects
June 23 – July 2017
2124 N. Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

 

My artwork has been about subtle narratives in nature, and also about the pureness of nature as a graphic element. My eye is drawn to the color, shape, composition, graphic pattern, and spirit of living things, animal life, wild and tame. By painting or making a print, I am honoring them, documenting my visual respect. There is also a narrative that finds it’s way into my art, the relationship between animals and humans, female and male. Fur upon skin, skin upon feathers. Is it love? Is it fear? It is a bit of a wink, the small size adds to the secrecy, a folk tale with a step beyond reality. It is an exploration of my personal place/space in this world.  In pursuing the graphic & narrative elements in my work, I am excited to see what happens next.

What I love about an etching plate is the element of 3D, working with copper, often the plate is as beautiful as the print. I covet “found wood” pieces to make my paintings. A cupboard door or a slice of a tree limb, the different shapes I find lend themselves to the composition and narrative of the image, and contribute to the history of the piece as a whole.

I am a printmaker that paints. I am also an Illustrator and Graphic Designer, and these skills influence my work as a Fine Artist, and visa versa.

Something about putting my art work online, on a website feels risky and scary to me, I can not totally put my little inky finger on why.