Thomas Franco, an artist and resident of Tierrasanta, San Diego, California, has won the second-place award in the highly competitive April 2023 San Diego Watercolor Society (SDWS) Member’s exhibition “Blooming Thoughts”, an in-gallery show of the SDWS at 2825 Dewey Road in Liberty Station, San Diego, CA. Franco’s painting titled “Buenos Dias” was selected by prominent Palm Desert artist Robin St. Louis for this honor, out of over 280 entries. St. Louis said of the painting, “This is such a perfect watercolor painting! It is so fresh, and it captures the moment beautifully, without any extra elements. I love the light in it, and the figure on the right adds the element of a story. It has all the things I like about watercolor. The fluidity in particular is beautiful.”
Franco has been a recent regular in the SDWS member exhibitions, as well as a frequent award winner. For this award, his extraordinary ability with light and fluidity of medium has been highlighted. Tom Franco, a native of Jersey City, New Jersey, studied art at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts and earned a BS degree in Marketing/Advertising from Seton Hall University. He started his career in advertising as an artist, but quickly switched to copywriting, ultimately becoming vice president of corporate communications for a New England life insurance company. His watercolors have been displayed in numerous art shows in New England, and after retirement he joined the San Diego Watercolor Society, where his paintings have won numerous awards. Tom works both in transparent watercolor and acrylic, feeling that these media require almost opposite approaches. In transparent watercolor, the overall design must be worked out before the first brush stroke, thereby retaining a freshness and translucency. For acrylic, broad patterns can be worked out and refined as work progresses. Using both media, then, encourages fresh perspectives on design. He also adheres to the school of painting that focuses more on the design of patterns than on specific objects. Reach Tom at: francosyl@hotmail.com
The SDWS Gallery Exhibit will run through Saturday April 29, 2023 at the SDWS gallery at 2528 Dewey Road in Liberty Station. Paintings can be viewed and purchased from the gallery as well as on the SDWS website at https://sdws.org/galleryart.php?cat=7016
ABOUT SAN DIEGO WATERCOLOR SOCIETY
The San Diego Watercolor Society, a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1965, is dedicated to expanding the appreciation of and involvement in watermedia painting through education, exhibition and promotion. More information can be found at http://www.sdws.org.
Watercolor, 12 x 16″