Tina Francis
My name is Tina Francis i have had a love of art, as far back as i can remember, i am totally self taught.
My inspiration came from a little zoo in Knaresborough in Yorkshire. The owner Nyoko made me a friend of his, due to the fact that he caught me going in the zoo with out paying. He allowed me to draw the animals if in exchange i would clean the elephant dung up, i was bearly 10 years of age, but i didn't mind if it meant i could get in free to draw. I never knew at that age it would become a career.
I started my career as an artist over thirty years ago. When i was twenty two i found myself a mother of two children and one was severley disabled. Unable to have a job in the conventional way ,due to hospital commitments with my daughter. I fell back on my one true love art. I did not know how people would react to my work but i knew that i could fit it around my daughter and her health. At the time i was lucky enough to live in a welsh beauty spot a place called Devil's bridge in Mid-Wales. There i was privilaged to be surrounded by the dams Dina's and Nant-y-moch i found the local souvenier shops were willing to take my work, and then i would paint the red kites and buzzards and local wildlife. The half way inn pub today still has my work next to each table and the table is named after them. My work then went down to Devon and i included otters and other wildlife. Later on after my third child when i was around 27 years old, I was invited back to my home town of Leeds, to exhibit and my exhibiting life began. I have had many exhibitions around the country and Wales. I have also had commision work has my portfolio included portraits and murals. Through the years i have traveled the world and my inspirations have been many like Africa and Greece both i adore. My recent exhibtion pieces have been inspired by my second husband Mark who works in opencast mining. I have enjoyed learning and meeting some of the people i painted, as i wanted to show a contrast with mining from the past to today, some pieces of work were purchased through photographs on dreamtime. But it was a pleasure to paint my husband his forman and friends.
I wanted to add to my enjoyment of painting and to teach so I trained with the Bob ross company and I am a Certified Bob Ross Instrustor it allows me to teach people who never believed they could ever be an artist,i believe art is for all i have had so many years of enjoyment through art and it helps heal the soul i am hoping many other people will also be able to enjoy as i teach the Bob ross technique to new an inspiring artists.
My inspiration came from a little zoo in Knaresborough in Yorkshire. The owner Nyoko made me a friend of his, due to the fact that he caught me going in the zoo with out paying. He allowed me to draw the animals if in exchange i would clean the elephant dung up, i was bearly 10 years of age, but i didn't mind if it meant i could get in free to draw. I never knew at that age it would become a career.
I started my career as an artist over thirty years ago. When i was twenty two i found myself a mother of two children and one was severley disabled. Unable to have a job in the conventional way ,due to hospital commitments with my daughter. I fell back on my one true love art. I did not know how people would react to my work but i knew that i could fit it around my daughter and her health. At the time i was lucky enough to live in a welsh beauty spot a place called Devil's bridge in Mid-Wales. There i was privilaged to be surrounded by the dams Dina's and Nant-y-moch i found the local souvenier shops were willing to take my work, and then i would paint the red kites and buzzards and local wildlife. The half way inn pub today still has my work next to each table and the table is named after them. My work then went down to Devon and i included otters and other wildlife. Later on after my third child when i was around 27 years old, I was invited back to my home town of Leeds, to exhibit and my exhibiting life began. I have had many exhibitions around the country and Wales. I have also had commision work has my portfolio included portraits and murals. Through the years i have traveled the world and my inspirations have been many like Africa and Greece both i adore. My recent exhibtion pieces have been inspired by my second husband Mark who works in opencast mining. I have enjoyed learning and meeting some of the people i painted, as i wanted to show a contrast with mining from the past to today, some pieces of work were purchased through photographs on dreamtime. But it was a pleasure to paint my husband his forman and friends.
I wanted to add to my enjoyment of painting and to teach so I trained with the Bob ross company and I am a Certified Bob Ross Instrustor it allows me to teach people who never believed they could ever be an artist,i believe art is for all i have had so many years of enjoyment through art and it helps heal the soul i am hoping many other people will also be able to enjoy as i teach the Bob ross technique to new an inspiring artists.
