About

My name is Frankie Sinclair and ShimmyShim.com showcases my work, thoughts and events. 

I am a re-emerging artist, currently based in Wiltshire. Having worked as a professional fine artist in London for 10 years, in the 1990s, I worked in other areas until 2021. However, during that time, I continued to explore creative work. This included projects such as two years of street photography,  three years of character design, running a ‘cartoon figure drawing club’ and experiments with print-on-demand technology.

In 2021 (having moved from London to Salisbury), I began figure drawing at a local class and after that, I joined the growing online figure drawing community, working with models and club hosts from around the world. This experience literally drew me back into the fine art world with renewed interest. I am now beginning to choreograph models myself, using affordable means such as screenshots from Zoom for reference.

My work is currently anchored in the practice of observational drawing, with a focus on the female form. I draw fast, with a ‘decisive’ line, aiming for vitality, and then modify the sketches with colourful pattern and painting. I have used digital printing methods to explore ways of reproducing the images at scale. I’m currently using a method of mounting original images on tiles to create larger works that are manageable in a small studio / living space.

With the earliest known scrawl on a cave wall dated at 73,000 years ago, there’s a primal element to drawing that I find deeply compelling, and which I think is very relatable. It’s important to me to make art that is accessible and joyful, but I also look for ways to challenge: my work is feminist, in that it conveys female power, vitality and sensuality.

I add the pattern and colour, in a free and loose style. This addition brings a sense of dimension and form to the drawings. It animates, suggests an inner world for the subject and creates a sense of story.

In this work, I’ve been heavily influenced by Egon Schiele and I’ve been studying his various methods of bringing vitality to the drawings.

I have a very broad range of interests and experience that has built up over the past 35 years. I am currently reviewing all my work and looking to pull from past projects into the present. As part of this review and as a way of connecting with people outside of the studio, I am writing one blog post per day, here on my website www.shimmyshim.com