Described a realist, Mike Francis was born in London in 1938. He studied illustration at St. Martin's and the Central School of Art, at the same time pursuing his own career as a painter. He was the winner of several prominent competitions, and in 1960 had his first one-man show at the Furneaux Gallery, London. In 1972 he won the National Gallery's 150th anniversary poster award. Many exhibitions followed in various parts of the world. In 1998 he had a solo show with Whitford Fine Art, London (Deja vu) composed of Super-Realist works.
His work is represented in many private and corporate collections including the Jamaican Embassy, Urs Schwarzenbach, Pears, Ace Publicity Shell, Prince Murat, Robbie Williams etc