Meet Jon Francis | Artist and Public School Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Francis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, why did you pursue a creative career?
Art has always been a gut feeling that I have followed. If an Idea hits me, I have to pursue it. I have a feeling of urgency to formulate ideas and get them going in the studio. I get excited in the process of developing ideas. More recently I have focused on oil paint on canvas or panels, but I am always exploring ways to combine and use various other mediums to express my thoughts. Sometimes the amount of ideas and images are so overwhelming that I end up painting over old canvases just to get my thoughts down on a surface. I love the excitement of creating ideas.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As cliche as it may sound, my interest in the arts wasn’t something that I chose, it chose me. From a very early age I was driven to create. I was lucky that many of my friends had similar drives and we spent many hours creating together. Early on, creating art was a form of discovery and analysis for me. I was discovering how to successfully formulate a landscape. I was training my eye to see how the human form moves and showed expression. As I have gotten older, my drive to create art has become more personal. I took about 10 years off from creating and during that time I felt like there was something missing. During that time I took a lot of time to reflect upon why I created. Upon returning to creating art, I was inspired by old photographs that I had taken in high school of my neighborhood. I started to paint these long forgotten images and began reconnecting with these old memories from the photographs. It also became an exciting way to connect with other people and hear their stories that came from seeing my art and remembering places and images that have long been scraped from our town.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In my opinion, the old and classic spots in Colorado Springs are the best way to experience the area: One of my favorite things to do in the summer is take a slow drive up West Colorado avenue from downtown Colorado Springs. Through the classic architecture in Old Colorado City into the funky and eclectic Manitou Springs. In Manitou, the Penny Arcade is the best way to spend an afternoon. From pinball and Space Invaders, there are decades of classic arcade games.
After the Penny arcade, dinner should be spent at Leon Gessi’s pizza. This classic NY Pizza place has the best thin crust pizza and a timeless atmosphere. After Leon Gessi, Bj’s Velvet Freeze is just around the corner. You can try a Boston Shake or sundae, but a classic vanilla cone is the best treat in town.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am continually inspired by friends, family and other artists. My high school art teacher, from way back in the day, Floyd Tunson, deserves a huge shout-out for helping me become a successful artist. In Floyd’s art classes we were encouraged to stretch our creativity beyond the expected. My first ever painting in Floyd’s class was 3 feet by 4 feet. It was with his support and encouragement that I was able to accomplish this feat. Not only did Floyd teach me about the fundamentals of art, he instilled in me a great love of Pop Art and inspired me to investigate artists like Basquiat.

Website: www.jonfrancis.art

Instagram: @jonnie.2.bad

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jonfrancisart