"Fran invites the viewer to look a little closer, take pause, and see the soul of each animal, and it’s emotional rendering as seen through their eyes." Keenly interested in art throughout her youth, Fran Alexander went on to study visual arts at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1984 with a degree in Art Education. Her painting instructor and mentor at the time was none other than celebrated Canadian artist Gordon Smith, an influence that would inform her artistic sensibility in the years to come. A shortage of jobs in the Vancouver area propelled Fran northward, where she would dedicate the next three years to teaching Inuit children in the town of Inuvik, Northwest Territories. This experience would foster a profound respect for native culture and the Canadian wilderness, and would also lay the foundation for future artworks.