People turn up in support of arts at Artini; featured artist, Eric Francis captures humanity’s soul in work

BOSSIER CITY, La. (KSLA) - The well-known muralist and realist painter has been selected as the featured artist for Bossier Arts Council’s fundraiser gala, Artini.

On April 16, the Bossier Arts Council (BAC) announced the featured artist for its annual big fundraising event, Artini, an extravagant themed event that assists the art council in producing its programs.

Artini will be held on June 14, from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m, at the Live Casino & Hotel Louisiana. Tickets can be purchased at HERE.

Photos from Artini 2025:

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This year’s theme of ‘On the One’ is of monochrome and jazzy, a theme perfectly suited to the well-known muralist and realism artist Eric Francis, who was selected to be the featured artist for the event.

How does he feel the Artini theme fits his work?

" Well, first, I was just so excited that they reached out to me about being the featured artist for Artini. It’s such a wonderful event, and it’s for a really great cause. The way that I feel it ties into me is when you are doing art, music is always around,” explains Francis.

Francis goes on to explain that ‘On the One’ was popularized by James Brown.

“And then, it’s also monochromatic. I love monochromatic paintings. Just one color and you do your magic. I love that. I love color too, but I love working with monochromatic colors.”

A lot of Eric Francis’ work speaks to the heart of who we are as human beings, like jazz music, his art captures the soul.

“I try to put that soul, that feeling, into my work, that feeling, that sorta rhythm in my work. When people say things to me like that, it brings me so much joy. Because I really do, I try to add that little something that is not being said,” says Francis. “The soul, the movement, the realism, all of that, trying to come together. It seems like a difficult task, or it is a difficult task, and when it comes together right, it’s just a beautiful thing.”

Why are events like Artini so important?

“Well, it’s very important because it supports the arts. We don’t get a lot of support from anywhere else. And, I again, I find that it is a beautiful thing that people are willing to come out. You know, get dressed really nicely and spend their money to support something like this. It’s very important,” explains Francis. “Art says so much about our community, about our values. When you support an event like this, you are saying art is important. It’s value is important, what artists do is important. Cause that’s what we do, we speak to the world, to society. We say those things that sometimes are not really comfortable, you know, sometimes are. We get to say things that other people don’t get to say and we get to have conversations other people don’t get to have. We get to do it in an open forum and we can bring a lot of people together while we are doing it. So, when you support the arts, you are saying that is important.”

Eric Francis is a contemporary realist painter, muralist, teacher, and museum coordinator for Southern University’s Museum of Art Shreveport. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Haitian parents with six siblings.

How art came to him?

“I pretty much always have been an artist. I just didn’t know what it was, I didn’t know that there was a name for it,” says Francis.

He explains that he was a creative kid, who even made his own toys. He learned to draw because his mother would send him and his siblings to the library.

“At the summertime, she would get tired of all of us in the house, tearing things up and running around. And, she really believed in education a lot, so, she would send us to the library so we could get books so we could read. Well, I got all the books on art,” explains Francis.

He remembers the books, A Hundred and One Ways to Draw Certain Things.

“I use to go through the book and just draw everything in the book,” says Francis. “That is what taught me art, it taught me all the basic principles.”

Francis had a lot of support from his parents in his art career; they had a lot of belief in him, and he believed in himself. So, it was full speed ahead.

“I didn’t know what to do. I went to an exhibition, the first exhibition I went too. It was of an illustrator, cause that’s what I wanted to be was an illustrator. And, I asked him “how do you become an illustrator,” I asked him. “Well, you have to go to college,” he said. So, I was like I gotta go to college,” says Francis.

He made his way to Louisiana and earned his associate’s degree from Southern University and a bachelor of studio painting from Centenary College.

Francis is known for his acrylic floral and portrait paintings.

“Eric’s work captures depth and realism that draws viewers in. In addition to painting, he shares his expertise through teaching and videos that offer a behind-the-scenes look at his creative process,” says a statement from Bossier Arts Council.

His Advice

“As an artist, you are also an entrepreneur, so I understand the business of art. It is a business. I find artists fail a lot, not because they are bad at the art, but, they’re bad at the business. You really have to take your business as seriously as you do your artwork. A lot of businesses fail, not because of their passion and love, it’s because of what they don’t know,” explains Francis.

Artists need to show their work and put themselves out there in the world to market themselves. People get to meet you and they see the vision, and they begin to understand, and they really love the thing that you do.

“Artwork sells so much easier when you are in the room,” Francis explains. “I start to feel like that I am being selfish. That I hold myself to myself, right?”

“There is a ego centerness that we have to -,” Brittney Hazelton says. “You have to get past it. The world needs what you have to offer. And only you can offer it in the way that you offer it. There will never be another you. Nobody is going to produce the work that you produce. Nobody. And, its selfish when you hold it to yourself, cause it actually belongs to the world,” says Francis. “You are actually moving the world forward in a beautiful and better way. Once you really begin to understand that, your work has a purpose bigger than you know, you are able to put it out there in a better way.”

The process.

The process of creating should be about the final result. In the conversation between Eric Francis and me. We discuss the rules artists often set on ourselves when we worry we are cheating in our process to create the final work. But, it’s not about the process, it is about the end result.

His art has been featured in multiple publications, including https://www.facebook.com/emptyeasel, and he has appeared on television to discuss his work, which is held in private collections across the area. Additionally, Francis was one of the artists who brought the mega mural in downtown Shreveport to life.

Through his exhibitions, commissions, and public art projects, Francis continues to make a vibrant impact on the art community of Shreveport-Bossier.

You can follow Eric Francis’ art on his website https://ericfrancis.bigcartel.com/, or visit his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ericfrancisart.

Find more art content at https://www.ksla.com/content/community/arklatex-artistry/.

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