Finishing formal study of the Arts in Belfast, in 1996, Frances Micklem, has followed her subject matter through the music industry and the nerves and dynamics of performance and interaction, in piano, horse riding, latin dance and the many zeniths and nadirs of relationships, in person and as a counselor.

In recent years, Frances has sought to capture the personalities and a sense of the life force in people and animals, as they go about their lives. She is inspired by the emergence of their varying degrees of confidence and the different unconscious emotions that surface in her characters; like shyness, protectiveness, and visionary energies like love, enthusiasm, connection and joy, so rarely seen in art.

Known for her ability to clear the energy of a home and to co-create situations and outcomes way beyond current means, Frances has been asked to do many commissions. These range from a reunion in Venice to a futuristic catering kitchen, to the building of a home (despite there having been a 10 year delay) and the protection of badgers from an imminent cull and the protection of pound dogs from a contract which would put non-animal lovers in management.

Studies in recent years took her into Horticulture and the drawing of plants in ink. She has also illustrated children’s stories. Being resourceful and a green-living artist, she has done collections called Eco Art To Heal Your Heart and the Streets Are Paved With Gold as a response to the mental health crises in Ireland’s young (and not so young) and to turn the recession around, respectively. A longstanding love of working with clay, has led to collections of animals, pendulums, figures in boats and ceramic coasters with resonant lettering and words imprinted on them. A major undertaking in late 2017 was to turn 52 of her paintings into a pack of angel cards, with a pearl of wisdom on the reverse of each.

She currently has an exhibition in The Kitchen Café in Bray. It is a beautiful new venue, with oceans of natural light and just refurbished and therefore providing a brilliant white backdrop. 

These are some of the paintings that I’ve sold so far and this, along with art critic Susi Allen’s support, I keep going and wouldn’t wish to do anything else.