Patrick Francis is a prolific painter who finds his primary source material in the visual culture and art history of western civilisation. A wide range of images attract his attention and he delves into them with enthusiasm.
Francis is drawn to the work of Michelangelo, Goya, Raphael, Van Gogh, Rubens, Velazquez and Gorky and has a true gift for discovering the essential humanity of the subjects besides showing the attitude / point of view often masked in the pictorial plays of the artist.
Patrick Francis often interprets the work of the famous masters with his characteristic bold / impressive colours and simplification of the illustrative plane recalling the intensity of modernist movements like Fauvism / German Expressionism, stripping back the image to its main components. The jolt of recognition one experiences when viewing these paintings is quickly replaced by astonishment that Francis could capture the quintessence of such famous images with his deceptively reductive style.
Francis’ deconstruction is a way of seeking the emotional truth of the subject: a search that distils the portrait into a purer form of representation, cleansed of its social / political implications. In Francis’ work, the individual’s essence shines through; engaging the viewer long after the initial shock of identification has passed.
See more at: Patrick-Francis.weebly.com
My Artist Gallery
If you would like to view my gallery you can view it at Patrick Francis's Gallery.
Newspaper Articles:
Emerging painter and autism ambassador Patrick Francis expresses himself through is art (links to article)