Francis was born in Newtownards, Northern Ireland and studied painting at St. Martin's School of Art (1980–85) before going on to the Chelsea School of Art where he completed his Master of Arts in painting in 1986. Francis has exhibited internationally both individually and in group exhibitions. Indeed, his "practice over the past thirty years has focused on making paintings with singular optical intensity — powerful, apparently abstract combinations of concentrated patterning and stark colour contrasts." As an emerging artist in 1995, Francis was involved in "The Adventure of Painting" at Kunstverein Düsseldorf/Stuttgart, Germany and "From Here" at the Karsten Schubert/Waddington Galleries in London. These shows were pivotal in questioning the role of contemporary painting both in Europe and the UK which consequently led Francis to show in prestigious exhibitions such as "IMMA Glenn Dimplex Award exhibition" Irish Museum of Modern Art (1996), "Absolute Vision; New British Painting in the 1990s" Museum of Modern Art Oxford (1996) and the infamous "Sensation" Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection exhibition (1997). By the year 2000, Francis was invited to exhibit an early career overview "Elements" at Milton Keynes Gallery.