Frances Hamilton

"My work is influenced by manuscript painting and storytelling images from children's books to religious altarpieces. The two smaller images included here are on antique book covers that have been discarded for rebinding. Some of the boards date back over two hundred years. I love the smell and feel of these materials. The weathered surfaces are full of history, their accumulated scratches and markings suggest past lives.

"Using waterbased paint, inks and collage I work with the experience of memory to call up images that have emotional resonance. As a child I sifted through old trunks in our attic. Now dreams, letters, cloth from flea markets, old photographs and magazines are frequent resources. The work in this presentation deals with family, loss and regeneration. The juxtaposition of these collected materials stimulates old memories and provides a ritual for gathering new insights."

[Painting Shown: "New Idea" gouache, collage on book boards]