Francesco Fontana is an award-winning artist who left his native Sicily after graduating from the Art School of Palermo to pursue his dream to be a portrait artist in bohemian Paris. He has also lived in London and has exhibited internationally in both oil and watercolor. His latest awards include a Bronze Medal of Honor at the American Watercolor Society International Exhibition (New York 2021) and Best Figure and Portrait at the Plein Air Salon in March 2021. Most recently he received the Art Group Critique Award by the San Diego Watercolor Society.

In 2008, Francesco founded Fare Pittura Atelier in Milan, Italy. He travels extensively as a sought-after workshop instructor throughout Europe, USA and Asia. He has led workshops for years at iconic places, including Claude Monet’s gardens and lily pond in Giverny. He has served as stage and field faculty at the Plein Air Convention & Expo, as well as judge and lecturer for the Watercolor Society of Oregon, and demo artist at Watercolor Live. He’s often a headliner in the top plein air competitions in the states, where he also published a DVD, Watercolor the Italian Way. He’s currently on the faculty of Contemporary Watercolor at Milano Painting Academy in Italy. Articles about Francesco have appeared in Plein Air Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, The Art of Watercolor and The Artist UK.

His professional affiliations include being a Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society, as well as the National Watercolor Society and Accademia Internazionale dell’Acquerello. Francesco is the loving (and resilient) father of two teenage girls, Teresa and Flora – his muses!