Meet Diana Francis

After supporting the 2015 Spring edition of the Affordable Art Fair Singapore, through her work with Elephant Parade and giving back to charity through the SG50 Feature Wall, we chatted with artist Diana Francis about her Affordable Art Fair experience, and what it is truly like to be an artist creating work in Singapore today.

What attracted you to get involved with Affordable Art Fair?

It was the collaboration with Elephant Parade because I feel that, as part of being involved with arts, it is also important to communicate to the public how art can work harder in terms of conservation and giving back. Including that idea into the Affordable Art Fair through Elephant Parade was interesting, and I particularly enjoyed encouraging people to be hands on with painting.

Did you enjoy your fair experience?

Very much so, mainly because of the interactive interest I had from the public. People were really interested in painting on the mini elephants and getting involved, and I felt that was a really nice experience for the visitors.

What was your most fun memory of the fair?

A fun memory for me for the fair was the collaboration between what we were doing with the elephants with the public and also what we were doing with the larger elephant “Tickled Pink”. The fact that this was going to give back to Playeum (Affordable Art Fair Singapore Fundraising Partner in 2015) made it an overall holistic experience of people working together which I found very rewarding.

As an artist what made you want to get involved with our Singapore fairs’ special SG50 feature wall for charity?

I have been a working artist in Singapore for the past 20 years. Because my work specifically focuses on mainly Singapore heritage, being part of SG50 wall was something I personally felt passionately and strongly about.

As an artist, what does a typical day involve for you?

Multiple projects ongoing at the same time, I don’t work on just one project. So a typical day will be for me to see what is the most critical of my time planning. Sometimes I feel like painting, sometimes I am more inspired to do some design work, sometimes I just have to focus on follow ups. So I just spilt my day.

do you do that based on how you are feeling at the time?

A little bit is emotionally driven and of course sometimes I have to stick to one thing if I have deadlines to meet. You do get inspired an as artist, sometimes you feel like getting behind the brush, sometimes not.

What inspires your work?

What inspires me predominantly in my work is really the heritage here in Singapore. I remember Singapore when I was a kid, so I remember the old Sampans and the lighting of Singapore. These themes inspire me, and also the colours you have here are also very exciting, and so that is mainly what goes into my work – colour. Do you think if you were anywhere else you would have the same interests?

Is it heritage particularly that you are interested in?

Totally not heritage specifically, that is my interest in Singapore. For example, if I was in London the colours are very different lighting is different depending on the time of day, creating different shadows. But my work is always about people, I love working with people. Landscapes create a backdrop, but it is the people in my pieces that inspire me.

What’s your favourite part of being an artist?

Not having an immediate boss!!! What I really appreciate is being able to do what I love, and finding that I touch people in a way that they can take some of that work with them into their lives, and that’s the most rewarding, interesting part of being an artist.

What’s the hardest part of being an artist?

Sometimes meeting a deadline, because painting is a very emotional process and it can be very tiring, so you still have to deliver and that can sometimes be the most difficult and stressful. And if your emotions have been rattled, you then have to override that and be master of de–compartmentalizing. Which is not that easy for artists.

What’s the most memorable moment of your career so far?

I really enjoyed working with some significant people, I loved working with Donnie Yen last year in Hong Kong, when I got him involved with creating an art piece with me which raised money for a children’s charity in HK. That was very rewarding. I was also the artist representing the Singapore Sun festival in 2010, and I won an Olympic medal in Beijing for my fine art in 2008. So I was in Tiananmen Square on the 8/8/08 with my art, which was great, so there have been a few really key points.

Do you buy artwork yourself?

Absolutely, I think the art on your walls is a journey of your own experience as well. I have a few very good friends that are artists Ketna Patel, Billy Ma, and having part of their work in my life is remembering good times with friends as well, so that is very inspiring. / Gallery life.