I am a full-time impressionism painter based out of Tuscaloosa, AL. I studied fine art throughout my childhood, exploring its various themes and mediums through years of independent art education.
Since entering the professional art scene in 2019, I have displayed my work in galleries and shows throughout the United States and am now an internationally selling artist working out of my home studio in Tuscaloosa.
Nature, in all of its serene beauty and bewitching severity, has become my lifelong muse. Its depths are full of both wisdom and innocence, creation and decay, peace and endless mystery - a perfect contradiction.
With oil, pigment, and paintbrush, I seek to express my own impression of the natural environment, while exploring its many themes. I hope that my life’s work draws you into nature’s perfect contradiction, and I hope that you feel something when you get there.
inspiration.
Silver Francis
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WHY SKULLS?
I am often asked why I choose to paint skulls and what they mean to me.
When I first discovered the latin term Memento Mori, I was struck by the simple and eternal truth of it’s message. I am going to die.
I was scared at first. It is a strange feeling, to be reminded of the inevitably of one’s own mortality. As I reflected, however, the tone began to change.
I am going to die, and that is beautiful. Life is more important because we are doomed, because any moment may be our last. Our mortality is what gives us meaning.
memento mori : remember
that you must die.
I paint skulls as a visual reminder that we are bones and must all succumb to the reality of nature’s elemental theme: with life must come death. My skeletal work reminds me of this every day, and it inspires me to live a true and meaningful life. To use my gifts to make a difference in the world. To love and to connect. To create.
May my skeletal work stand as a symbol of death’s beauty and the importance of embracing life.
Impressionistic strokes of oil on canvas have always been my preferred mode of creation.
Oil paint is exceptional in its simplicity: fine oils and natural pigments. There is nothing quite like the smooth, glossy texture of oil paint gliding over woven fabric, and I love the idea of using such a historically significant medium to create my own modern impressions.
Over years of experimentation, I have developed a unique style of contemporary impressionism in which layered strokes of paint flow seamlessly into one another, slowly taking form to produce bold and alluring works of art. I call this technique fluid impressionism, as I allow the shape and movement of my subjects to inspire how each stroke flows into the next.
