Born in Armidale NSW in 1965, Canberra artist Frances McMahon has been painting our stunning Australian native birds since age five. Her love of birds was nurtured by her father, a keen birdwatcher. Frances clearly remembers trying to keep up with his long strides!
Developed over many years, her extraordinary technique consists of airbrushed backgrounds with the main work completed in watercolour. Using a minute brush, her elaborate paintings may take over 260 hours to complete. Many of the details are so fine they may only be seen with a magnifying glass. She is entirely self-taught and uses reference material of her own.
Her commissioned works hang in private collections in Australia, New York, Minnesota, and Ontario.
Frances' work has featured in many magazines and has won many awards, including:
Overall Winner (2022), Award of Excellence (2023 and 2024), and finalist (2021) in the prestigious Holmes Prize for Excellence in Realistic Australian Bird Art.
She also was the 1st place winner in the Art and Colour 365 Magazine online animals art competition, in which 600 entries were received worldwide.
Further information may be found on her website:
www.francesmcmahon.com
