Frances was born in Bairnsdale. She is the daughter of Fay and Frank Harrison with land ties to the Gunai/Kurnai (Victoria)and Monaro (New South Wales) peoples through her mother, and the Ngarigo people from New South Wales through her father. She spent her childhood in Bairnsdale and Cann River before settling in Lakes Entrance. Frances and her family are well-known for their art, craft and artifact making which they have been producing, exhibiting and selling in and around Lakes Entrance for years.
As a child, Frances learnt by watching her father and other family members before completing her first painting at the age of twenty-one. She fondly recalls her Uncle Billy Harrison’s art and craft shop, where, supported and resourced by EGAAC, she and her family continue to work today.
With abilities in a range of mediums including painting, screenprinting, emu egg carving and wood burning onto shields and boomerangs, Frances is perhaps best known for her colourful, fine paintings which typically depict the environment where she lives and the land and waters she is traditionally connected to. Frances states: “My work is influenced by the ocean and the bush and the plants and animals that live there “ . Native bush animals such as kangaroos, lizards, snakes and emus frequently appear in Frances’s work. Also common are sea creatures, for which Frances appears to have a particular affinity. Turtles and crabs have become something of a signature in Frances’s paintings. In, Tribal Expressions: The Business of Art and Culture in Indigenous Victoria ( Ed, Jane Harrison ) Harrison says that she “remembers her father and one of her uncles stripping bark from a tree, drying it out and then painting on it.”
Fran’s work is sought after for reproduction for businesses and for gift cards. As an arts worker, Frances is frequently asked to participate in a range of community projects. Frances has exhibited extensively with her intricate work selling well.
- Writers:
- East Gippsland Aboriginal Arts Corporation, VIC
nmian
- Date written:
- 2008
- Last updated:
- 2012
