Feb
22
Written by:
web master
2/22/2010 4:38 PM
Frances H. Klavens, Artist Extraordinaire
An excerpt from the Chesterbrook Chatter, written by a resident at Chesterbrook Residences.
Okay, I confess. I had to consult Dr. Peter Mark Roget’s thesaurus in order to come up with the superlatives to properly describe Fran Klavens’ array of oil paintings. I failed. Suffice it to say, you can probably count on your hands the number of artists in the Commonwealth of Virginia who could duplicate Fran’s paintings. They’re that good!
Once the jaw-dropping is over upon initially seeing her work and the inevitable: “I didn’t expect that!” comment is made, the questions become: “Where has Fran been?” And “Where does she go from here?”
Like many fine artists, Fran has a reserved and restrained persona about her. Her artwork, which mirrors and reflects her personality, has an aura of elegance to it that is simply breathtaking. For example, the “Matador,” which is the flagship painting of Fran’s portfolio, shows this quite well. The painting depicts in stunning portrayal a matador dressed in full regalia. In painstaking detail, Fran is able to show the viewer the grandeur of the matador’s attire. Additionally, Fran has instilled so much action in the painting, which with the cape flowing and the bull charging, that the scene appears to have movement.
The answers to the earlier questions are (1) after studying at the Corcoran Gallery’s School of Art in Washington, DC, as well as with Bob White in Old Town Alexandria, Fran raised her family and became a full time homemaker. Fran recently resumed her art career to the delight of her following. And (2) an exhibit of Fran’s body of work is tentatively scheduled at Chesterbrook Spring 2010.
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