I’m enchanted by (and revel in) the gilded gutter life of Francis Bacon; the boozy days running into nights in Soho, the lovers, the fights, the fame and incredible success he achieved (both critically and financially) in his lifetime, his acerbic wit, candidness, the genius put downs.. I love it all. Equally I admire and respect Francis as an artist, chaos within structure, the screaming of a mind in a tightly composed pastel pink box, the turmoil of the human condition and inner life splattered over a canvas. After an extended break away from painting I returned in 2012 and was happily reunited with my estranged friend once again. I wanted to do things differently and so, for the first time, painted in oils and on canvas, a departure in both method and experience to the water based paints I’d previously used. One of the first paintings I made was this portrait of Francis, hoping to catch a note deeper than pure likeness.. to capture something of his spirit and soul.
