James Franco, NYC 2011 Photograph

I was born in New York City into a family of artists. My father , Jean is an Emmy winning documentary film maker , mother Chantal is a painter and both my grandfathers were photographers. There are also classical musicians, chefs that have cooked for US Presidents, writers, and dad's cousin was the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Drawing began at seven years old and painting began at the age of eleven. Donna Karan gave me my first professional creative gig when she created a position for me at her Menswear Collection as a junior designer. It was a job that consisted of vintage clothing sourcing , sketching , creating seasonal inspiration boards, assisting with fashion show casting and production , and photographing street trends. It was during this two year period that creation of the photographic portrait image , from clothing, to texture ,to light ,to composition, to subject matter, began to subconsciously seep into my brain. It was here that I was featured in some DKNY promotional videos , photographed for DKNY's ad campaign and began to realize that the artists life was never a straight line. I left DK Menswear , as clothing design was never my passion , and armed with Donna's blessing , a cool wardrobe and a headshot by master fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh , off I went to study acting and film . After a pretty successful couple of years doing TV commercials , I found that all of my down time , and there is way too much of that as an actor , was spent drawing , taking pictures and painting portraits. It was another chapter where what I was learning and absorbing and truly connecting with, was indirect. Three or four days of work acting in commercials covered all my expenses for a year. Out of all of this free time came the creation of my first solo show of paintings , and the real beginning of my life as an artist under my own terms. I certainly didn't become an overnight art star , but as a result of that show ,I began mentoring child artists in risky inner city neighborhoods in and around NYC . More shows, private collectors and commissions soon followed , many of them film and fashion world players. The turning point came when I was commissioned to paint the three sons of "Twilight" producer Wyck Godfrey in Los Angeles and I needed to photograph them first.