Fran Gallun – Mixed Media Artist/Teacher
I am a Philadelphia native, and have been producing art here for about 40 years. During that time, I have worked in different media, as well as 2D and 3D work.
Starting out in photography at the Philadelphia College of Art in the late sixties, I went on to painting, then mixed media work, sculpture and installation. In the last several years I circuitously got around to painting on canvas again, and then on to the pastels exhibited in May, 2005, at the DaVinci Art Alliance in Philadelphia.
Themes running consistently through my work are lively, intense color; expressive line and gesture; interest in ancient civilizations, ruins, the cycles of time; and memories and imaginings of all these.
When I switched from painting on canvas to works on paper, I felt liberated, and the themes that interested me in painting emerged in a new and deeper way in the mixed media works. It was very exciting to see this consistency of subject, even as the materials changed dramatically.
I have found it helpful to remember that painting is a long distance run, not a sprint. I have been amazed at the things my art has taught me. When younger, I never realized this was the big reason people keep doing art.