Tim Francis

Tim was born at Hamilton, Ontario but his earliest memories of being immersed in artwork were in North Vancouver when, as a young child, his mother, renowned artist Dorothy Francis, () used to sit him down at the dining room table with pastels and paper.

Later, attending the Applied Arts program at Capilano College in North Vancouver, he was awarded government bursaries and college scholarships as well as a place on The Dean’s List, all of which resulted in him earning contracts to do the artwork for an album cover and logo for rocker, Randy Bachman, as well as the promotional artwork for his city's professional soccer team, The Vancouver Whitecaps.

In the late 70’s and through the 80’s Francis worked as a newspaper executive in the areas of art direction, advertising, and marketing but continued to produce commissioned paintings and pencil portraits until he and his wife Janice moved from North Vancouver to East Barriere Lake where he took up painting full-time, exhibiting in galleries in Victoria, Vancouver, Kamloops, Chemainus, Calgary, Montreal and Cannon Beach, Oregon.

In 1990 an opportunity presented itself for the couple to purchase their local newspaper, which served BC’s North Thompson Valley. While the newspaper became a success financially for the couple, they decided to concentrate once again on the things they truly loved and sold the paper in 1995.

In 2001 Francis was featured as a ‘Master Painter’ by International Artist Magazine.

Having moved to Kamloops in 2004, Tim continues to paint what he now describes as, “Magical landscapes. I’ve made a conscious decision to loosen up, both with the subject matter and with the technique. I’m trying to convey my personal feel for the region in these new paintings and I want viewers to recognize that magic exists behind every landscape, something we often forget as we go about our daily lives.”

Having taken a trip to Haidi Gwaii in 2019, and having grown up on the coast, and having family that still live there, one of whom has a beautiful boat moored in Vancouver, most recently Tim has focused his work on the endangered Orca's of the Salish Sea*. "There are only 72 of these animals remaining in the Salish Sea and their future is less than bright given current conditions involving human interference, noise pollution and over-fishing."

* The Salish Sea is comprised of Washington State's northern coast and British Columbia's southern coast.

Applied Arts Program, Capilano College, 1973, 1974.

My earliest influences were Salvador Dali, (The melting clocks) and Canadian artist Alex Colville, (Horse and Train). These are the two paintings that burned into my consciousness as a young child. The Clocks because it warped my view for the first time and Horse and Train because the image of the horse running toward the locomotive was so powerful and dangerous. I would say my greatest influences would be American landscape artists Maynard Dixon and Ed Mell.

landscape, desert, orca, killer whales, psychedelic, realism, stormy, peaceful, restful, ocean