Frances Cannon is a multidisciplinary queer artist and author located in Melbourne, Australia who works primarily with watercolour, gouache and ink. She is the founder of the "Self Love Club", a movement that pushes for inclusivity and self-acceptance. Feminism, self-love, sexuality, gender, sex, identity, and mental health are all important themes in Cannon's work. Cannon describes her work as 'diaristic', examining what it means to be a woman in contemporary times through her own lens. Along with painting, Cannon has published a poetry book titled "I Hope You're Having Trouble Sleeping" and released her own line of T-shirts with her work on them. Cannon lists some of her artistic influences as Louise Bourgeois, David Shrigley, Quentin Blake, Marlene Dumas and Frida Kahlo.
Biography
Frances Cannon was born on the 15 September 1992 to Australian parents in rural Melbourne, Australia. Her family moved to Thailand in 1993 and Cannon spent much of her formative years living there, where she was educated through home-schooling, the Chairo Christian School, and the Grace International School. Cannon moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2012 to pursue art, where she graduated from RMIT University with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in 2015 and with a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours. Soon after, Cannon began solo and group exhibitions, along with custom work for print and online publications.
Work
Cannon is mainly known for her drawings which consists mostly of simple, black and whiteline drawings. Of her drawings, Cannon said "...if there is something I really want to communicate that particular day, I will focus my mind on that topic or scene, and those drawings and paintings are my best. I still never plan the paintings though. I work immediately and fluidly." For larger paintings, Cannon uses watercolour, gouache and ink on thick watercolour paper. The large ink paintings are ambiguous and watery, using large splashes and fluid washes of colour to complement her black line work. Similar in theme to her other works, Cannon's paintings revolve around the body and self. Cannon says that her work "feels the fullest when it involves both drawing and painting".
Books
Cannon illustrated Girlish, a book about intersectional feminism, by Alana Wulff in 2017. Cannon has published two colouring books: one titled Ladies Lost in the Wilderness, and another in 2017 named Body Positive. In 2018, Cannon self-published a poetry book titled I Hope You're Having Trouble Sleeping In 2017, Cannon self-published a zine titled "Self Love Club", inspired by her social media movement of the same name. It has 72 submissions from her followers who have obtained a Self Love Club tattoo. Also in 2017, Cannon published "Piss on the Patriarchy: A Very Serious Zine" for distribution as part of her stall at the .
Feminism
Cannon gives feminism as a major influence in her work. According to her, "Feminism means everyone getting the same chances in life." She went on to explain that feminism taught her "how to love myself and love my body, and that has influenced my work in such a huge way." “I think my art and my feminism sustain each other. It sounds a bit weird, but I think that’s a big thing. Like, I’ll make a drawing and it’ll be really positive with a feminist message and I will learn from that. Sometimes I’ll make drawings without even properly thinking about it. Later, I’ll look at it and think, 'oh, I need to do that!' or 'I need to think that about myself.'"
The Self Love Club is a movement inspired by a personal tattoo Frances Cannon has on her arm. It aims to promote positive body image, introspective love, and a general attention to the importance of self. The simple tattoo idea was posted onto Cannon's Instagram account, where she invited others to 'join the club'. The tattoos act as a "little symbol acknowledging self-worth". Cannon said that illustrating her self-love has inspired not only herself, but so many other people.
