Franklin Perkins

I grew up in southern California in the 1950s and 60s, and that place left strong impressions on my visual sense.  I became a friend of bright saturated color and clarity of outline.  There was a feeling of large scale, of newness, and artificiality.  It was much later that these early experiences played a role in my life. 

I studied English literature as an undergraduate and then obtained a medical degree in Chicago.  During 20 years of practicing medicine in San Francisco I began attending adult extension classes at the San Francisco Art Institute.  I set up a work studio at home, and after several years artwork subsumed all other interests.  In 2001 I left hospital practice  and moved to New York City to begin life as an artist.  After a year of study at Sotheby’s Institute I began painting full time in 2004.  I worked and exhibited in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In 2018 I left the city and settled in  coastal Sonoma County. 

My work is concerned with some of the basic aspects of visual expression:  line, shape, form scale, and above all, color.