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Bio
Ray Franklin has been an artist for most of his life. Ray grew up and lives in Sacramento. His artistic abilities were first noticed in elementary school and they continued to develop throughout high school where he took many art classes. In 1981 Ray was enrolled in the Short Center in Sacramento because of his interest in painting and drawing. From the beginning his art stood apart. His art has been featured in many exhibitions and has often earned critical praise. For the past six years he has been working at the Short Center South, a fine arts program for adults with developmental disabilities.
Ray's work is based on experience, he draws what he knows and places he has been. Ray incorporates everyday scenes of the city into his artwork. His love for the city is apparent by the subject matter that he chooses to paint. Ray seems to have an almost photographic memory and is able to depict images of bridges and cityscapes from many different angles without the use of direct observation. His paintings are expressive and painterly. Along with scenes from Sacramento, Ray will often paint scenes of Oakland and San Francisco. He also paints images of “street people” and “bar scenes”. He focuses largely on images of African Americans.
He has been exhibiting his work professionally for more than ten years. Major exhibitions include the Crocker Art Museum, Expressive Visions Group Show in Sacramento, Opts Gallery in San Francisco, Outsider Art Fair in New York, NY, and Nestors Universe in Santa Fe, NM. He had a major retrospective of his work at Short Center South's Dublirer Gallery in June of 2003. He was also featured on the local news station's monthly cultural arts program, which highlighted his many artistic accomplishments. His work is also included in many art collections throughout California.
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