Paradise Lost Painting

Francis Bacon Born 1944 in Bristol England, my art education started when I was eleven. Every Saturday morning was spent drawing at Bristol museum. After several years I must have drawn every stuffed animal they had. At fifteen I attended the Royal West of England College of Art. Drawing was always important to me and this course allowed me to overload on it. At seventeen I embarked on a five year apprenticeship with a large Bristol printing company. The studio had thirty very talented artists working in various media. They produced many of the old cigarette cards that people still collect today. Part of the apprenticeship contract allowed me a days release each week to go back to art college, along with night school three times a week. It was a case of drawing, drawing and more drawing. Like Andy Worhol I have always considered myself to be a commercial artist. My first real job was with a Bristol graphic design studio, from there to Montreal Canada. It was in Canada that I started to paint seriously when asked to create paintings for an art gallery photo shoot. I have always experimented with the work I do, subtly changing things as I go, never staying too long on one subject. Some of my paintings contain a subtle message about the damage we inflict on the environment, ourselves, or other creatures, things we should all be concerned about. I think the framing of any art work should be almost as important a consideration as the painting itself. By integrating the two it can enhance the image and strengthen the dialogue. Many of my paintings are scattered across North America, Canada and the UK where I now live.