The Art of Conversation

The Art of Conversation

Meeting new people is always so much fun for me.  I’ve never understood why it’s so difficult for others.  Perhaps they’re shy.  A little uninhibited.   That’s not the gene I inherited.  Maybe it’s a New York thing.  True I’ve been living in the desert longer than I lived in NY, but having NY parent’s with the Brooklyn accent et al, made living in the Baked Apple vs the Big Apple, pretty much the same, sans anything to do after 9 pm.

When I first began chatting with The Artist France we sent text messages and when we finally spoke on the phone, I liked the sound of his voice. Soft. Unassuming. He sounded like a gentle soul, yet playful and kind. Here we are:  Two strangers.  No face-to-face, and yet the conversation ebbed and flowed.

I call it chemistry.  You either have that with someone or you don’t.  

Besides chemistry, there is an ART TO CONVERSATION.  There are those who always talk about themselves, never inquiring about you and at the end of a lengthy dissertation albeit boring discourse making a root canal seem more enjoyable, they dismiss you because they have something more important to do.  Hate that.

Then, there’s the person who only responds with, “right” or “exactly” or worse, repeats what you said.  You don’t realize it at first, but all of a sudden you’re hearing yourself in stereo.

But it was different with France.  Besides being The Artist France, he seems to have mastered the Art of Conversation.  And that in itself is an art.  We had a give and take.  Mutual respect and one of the things that endeared him to me was the willingness to listen to new ideas. Willing to listen and learn as I did, too.  

The Artist France

How often do you know a writer, dancer or artist and then see their work?  

Knowing about their lives makes their ART come alive and becomes more personal and endearing.  And then suddenly you have bragging rights at a party.  

And so begins his story and my journey to represent his art all over the world.

Q and A about THE ARTIST FRANCE 

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~For your Listening Pleasure, Let me Take you on Musical Trip to Paris, France~  

Q. How is your technique different than other artists?

A. As an former professional house painter spending years working with paint, I understand the medium and have an intimate knowledge of its character. As an Artist, I use that knowledge to apply it to my own style of painting. As an freelance styled painter I paint without rules or “schooled” techniques.

Q. What is the first thing people notice about your art?

A. It's whimsical, colorful & entertaining

Q. Has your art changed over the years?

A. Yes and no.  I still paint in my original uninhibited style, yet started to draw and using images as inspiration.  I started my so-called "Instagram" series with women as the main subject.

              

Q. What is your medium(s)

A. My mainstay is Acrylic on canvass, Canvass boards or Canvass sheet.

Q. What is your inspiration and what is it that you're passionate about?

A. Typically it originates with high energy music coupled with visions and then I just start throwing paint as I call it.  I'm passionate about creating images that draw reactions from the audience.  I want to create enthusiasm for the viewer.

Q. Why did you wish to remain anonymous?

A. There is less explaining to do when you can separate your personal life from your artistic life. I want my audience to fall in love with my work and focus on the art, not as much as the artist.

Q. How did your being part of TV production/film industry work help you?

A. When you constantly work with Artists you feed off each other.  It's stimulating.  And seeing your backgrounds you worked on was fun to me to see those on TV or the big screen.

Q. Did you meet anyone or do anything interesting during that time?

A. Yes, I met many fascinating people, incredible talented artists, painters photographers, actors, singers and writers.

Q. How was the Seattle art scene?

A. It mainly was the music scene at that time, very eclectic groups of people for sure.

Q. Why did you "re-emerge" in Tucson?

A. It was a couple of years after my late wife died in Seattle in 1997, I then became ill and was diagnosed with severe psoriatic arthritis and my doctor suggested I move to Tucson, which I did.

Q. What inspired you to paint again?

A. Three years after I met my current wife Melissa. She is an incredibly positive person.  She inspired me to paint again.  This is when I did the Showhouse.  However between raising a family and our professional careers, I decided to take another hiatus.  I started back up after the kids moved out in 2017. When I joined my wife at a Sherwin Williams Color reveal event and they announced a painting contest, she got me to enter.

Q. Did your early years in London and Amsterdam shape your art?  If so how and when?

A. I’m sure coming from Europe and having all these experiences growing up have some kind of influence, maybe confidence I suppose.

Q. What was life like during your stay in NY and how did it influence you?

A. NYC was the proofing grounds on survivability as an young man. In contrast to Europe. I was very fortunate to have family and got to meet many interesting people and it gave me a sense of freedom. You know if you can hack it in NYC you can hack it anywhere right.

I couldn't say it any better than Old Blue eyes himself:

For more information about France, schedule commissioned work or make a purchase:

                  Heidi Goldman Fine Art Agency

                                                         heidigoldmanfineart@gmail.com

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