Francesca Maxwell

I am fascinated by the effects of transparency and layering in a variety of media, particularly with ink and watercolour but also with pastels, fused glass and digital painting. Through shapes and colours I am exploring movement and depth following my intuitive journey; sometime in a more figurative and sometime in a completely abstract world. Landscapes and light reflections, sometime observed for a long time, sometime briefly glimpsed, create thoughts and emotions which become the images I paint.

After moving to England I worked as a scenic artist at the National Theatre, Opera North, the Bristol Old Vic, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory and many other theatres throughout the UK.
In the last fifteen years I worked in stop-motion animation; as senior painter on Aardman’s “Chicken Run”, head painter on Tim Burton’s “The Corpse Bride” and Art Director on “Fantastic Mr Fox” and “ParaNorman”.

I teach courses and workshops on Colour, Brushworks and Old Masters techniques at the Royal West Academy in Bristol.
I founded and run for two years the Post Graduate Course in Scenic Art at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and still teach there part-time both in Figurative Scenic Art and on Animation Projects.
I am also visiting tut...

Trained in Fine Art in Milan and in Beijing and studied at Venice and Bologna Universities.
Was an apprentice under the painter and etcher Arrigo Ghisellini for fifteen years and worked with the restorer Paola Centurini on 17th and18th century oil paintings.

2014 Group Exhibition RWA Bristol
2011 Group Exhibition “Good” Gallery Portland, OR
2010 Group Exhibition “Thou Art in Hampstead” London
2007 Group Exhibition Royal National Theatre London
2006 Group Exhibition Tobacco Factory Bristol
2004 Solo Exhibition Theatre by the Lake Keswick
2003 Group Exhibition Tobacco Factory Bristol
2001 Group Exhibition Tobacco Factory Bristol
2000 Group Exhibition Tobacco Factory Bristol
1996 Solo Exhibition Queen Elisabeth Hall Theatre Bristol