Our June Artist of the Month is
Brenda Francis
My Life, My Art, My Passion

As a child, I always loved to draw but I didn’t know God had given me the gift to paint until I was 58 years old. My mother was a painter and my sister is a retired award-winning art teacher. I was always creative but never believed I had the patience to paint.  For two years, l found myself studying paintings, both my mother’s and others’, and recognizing that I understood HOW they achieved those shadows, the light, the movement, the folds in the clothes. Then, in 2010, an eight-year-old artist in England started taking the art world by storm as ‘The New Monet.’  He was eight and I was 58 and I knew it was time for me to learn to paint!   Once I discovered my passion for painting, I lost all patience for anything else.

Born and raised in Tallahassee, as an adult I lived in Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama and Louisiana before returning to Tallahassee in 1986.   Since falling in love with painting in 2010, I have been active in local art exhibits and was accepted into my first exhibit with COCA after painting only five months.  I have since won many awards in different exhibits in Tallahassee, Thomasville and Valdosta and have been chosen four times for the Colson Calendar in Valdosta.   I am currently active on the Art Council at the Tallahassee Senior Center.

My husband and I both love photography and together, we have a lot of resources for my paintings. We enjoy visiting wildlife preserves and ‘stalking’ birds, especially water birds, with our cameras in hand.  He has lived here since college and has been taking photos of many subjects for many years in North Florida.  He has a large repertoire of old buildings that no longer exist in this area which are a wonderful resource for ME!  We are a great team!