Frans Wesselman

Stained glass panels, traditional technique combined with contemporary design

Frans was born in Holland, where he also trained to be a painter and printmaker. Coming to England, he has been elected a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. He has worked for many years (and still does) in oils, watercolours and etching and his work has been exhibited widely both in Britain and abroad.

In 1999, on a visit to Salisbury Cathedral, he was particularly struck by “The prisoners of conscience” window, painted by Gabriel Loire (in the 1980s). Not having ever paid much attention to stained glass before, he decided there and then to study the technique and try to make some himself.

One of the things that excited him was the way one can tell stories in glass, where the ephemeral quality of the material, part light, part substance, encourages the mind to make leaps of the imagination. He has made many pieces since and keeps discovering new challenges, new ways to do things.
He has undertaken many commissions and is always pleased to discuss new ones, but he also has a range of ready-made pieces available.