Ron Francis : Trompe L'Oeil Murals

  
Ron Francis was born in Sydney, Australia.  He lived in Victoria, Australia for 20 years, and now lives in South Australia.  Mr. Francis is a self-taught painter and muralist, obtaining most of his technical information from photography and mathematics books.  He has been painting professionally for the past 25 years, and has been represented in several exhibitions as well as public and private collections through his murals.

When working on canvas, Mr. Francis uses oil paint; on murals, which are generally on walls, he primarily uses signwriters acryllic and airbrush.  Perspective is essential in creating Trompe L'Oeil, or "trick of the eye," murals, so he relies heavily on mathematics, using a self-developed computer program to handle the necessary calculations.  The perspective has to be calculated from a single viewpoint, and from this point the mural should blend seamlessly with the existing architecture.

Trompe L'Oeil murals are generally most effective when painted directly onto the wall.  The major limitations are the wall's boundaries, as well as objects protruding from the wall—such as switches—that may cast a shadow.  The surface of the wall must be reasonably smooth, with a sound base of paint or primer.  Alternatively, the mural can be painted onto panels, generally medium density fiberboard, or MDF.  These do not warp, and have smooth surfaces.  The edges of the panel could represent an architrave or similar architectural feature, though this may detract slightly from the overall effect since light falling on the edges may change while light in the mural is constant.  Panels are painted in the artist's studio.

For more information, visit Ron Francis's website at http://users.senet.com.au/~rfrancis.