GO Convo with Painter Tom Francis

Meet Tom Francis, a painter, teacher, mentor, and collector of odd and amusing objects. We had the unique opportunity to chat with Tom during a (socially distanced) studio visit where we discussed his art practice and life after retiring from a 40-year teaching career. We talked everything from his process and methodology to stories of hanging out with Chuck Close and the 2020 pandemic. He also left us with inspiring words of wisdom about the contribution viewers bring to artwork. We recorded our GO Convo with Tom Francis, available below.

Tom was born in Wisconsin, where he earned B.S, M.A., and M.F.A. degrees in painting from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He went on to teach at the Atlanta College of Art and then at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta, where he chaired the painting department. He retired a few years ago as Professor Emeritus of Painting at SCAD and is still adjusting to a more solitary art practice while missing his students and their conversations.

Tom’s paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States and abroad, including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis; The High Museum of Art in Atlanta; Montgomery Museum of Fine Art in Alabama; Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina; Ohr-O’Keefe Museum in Biloxi, Mississippi; Sylvia Schmidt Gallery in New Orleans; KLIM Galleries in Toronto, Canada; Chapelle de la Sorbonne in Paris; Refectoire des Jacobins in Toulouse, France; Palazzo Venezia in Rome; and Westmont Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA. His work is also in numerous private, public, and corporate collections, including the Chase Manhattan Bank, Lorimar Productions, Disney Corporation, and Coca Cola USA, among others.