 Talbot Street in St. Thomas is no stranger to a tattoo shop, but walk into FranKingstyle Art Gallery and Tattoos, and it’s very obviously something different. It feels alive. There is colour everywhere, with a variety of art styles and mediums layered across the room, paintings that pull you in, sculptures that make you lean a little closer, and the sense that if you sat on one of the benches for ten minutes, you would still be spotting new details. Maybe that is the point. This is not a space asking you to rush the experience or just pick a flash design from the wall. It is asking you to look. Really look. That feels fitting, because owner Francis Martin has spent most of his life doing exactly that. He has been creating commissioned art since he was 16 and works across a wide range of mediums, from painting and airbrushing to sculpting, etching, and tattooing. He has also spent more than 25 years teaching art, which, honestly, explains a lot about the way he talks about creativity. Even when he is describing his own work, he keeps coming back to other people. Community. Possibility. Helping someone discover what they can do with their hands and imagination.
Francis didn't arrive in St. Thomas by accident, exactly, but it does sound like the city gave him room to imagine something bigger. He moved here in September 2023, after years of building his artistic practice elsewhere, including commissions, murals, teaching, and eventually tattooing. Before St. Thomas, he had operated The Art Shop in Watford for more than a decade, a space that evolved into something more than a studio. It became a place to create, to teach, and to showcase other artists. In some ways, FranKingstyle feels like the next version of that idea. A little sharper, maybe. A little more personal. But still rooted in the same belief that art should be shared, not guarded. And that is part of what makes the gallery interesting. Francis is not trying to force everything into one neat style. Quite the opposite. He talks openly about getting bored when artists are pushed to repeat the same thing forever, just because it sells or because it fits someone else’s idea of what art should look like. He is more interested in variety, in voices, in the strange and soulful pieces that do not always fit neatly together on paper but somehow work when they share a room. He described the gallery as a kind of “misfit” space, and that feels right in the best possible way. Paintings, pottery, sculpture, tattoo design, collaborative work, family work, work that carries a story. It is all welcome here.  The business name itself tells you something about how Francis sees the world. “FranKingstyle” is a play on his own name and on Frankenstein, a figure he clearly loves, not as a monster, but as something misunderstood and assembled from many parts. That idea carries through the whole storefront. This is a place built from pieces that matter to him: his own art practice, his tattoo work, the artists he admires, his son’s creativity, the energy of collaboration, and the conviction that people deserve spaces where they can make things without being told to stay in one lane. That sense of collaboration shows up everywhere. Francis speaks about art less like a solo act and more like an ecosystem. He lights up when he talks about other artists. About seeing Laura’s [Woermke] work. About the detail and imagination in Marijo’s [Swick] pieces. About the range of talent in St. Thomas and Elgin County. About how communities rise when creative people stop worrying so much about guarding their corner and start showing up for each other. It is hard not to agree with him. Especially now, when so much culture feels fast, disposable, and made to be half-watched while someone scrolls a second screen. Francis is interested in the opposite of that. He wants people to spend time with art. To sit with it. To let it mean different things to different people. During our conversation, he talked about how a single piece can tell one story to the person who made it and a completely different one to the person who encounters it later. There was something very generous in that view. Art, in his world, is not a lecture. It is a conversation.
Tattooing fits naturally into that philosophy. Francis began tattooing in 2019, though the road there was longer than that. He had wanted to be a tattoo artist much earlier in life, but the timing, the industry's culture, and the realities of adulthood got in the way. Instead, he built a career as an artist first. In a way, that foundation seems to have made all the difference. By the time he began tattooing professionally, he already knew how to translate ideas visually. He already understood composition, colour, texture, and storytelling. He just had to adapt to a new canvas. That shift from wall to skin is something Francis talks about with real care. He does not frame tattoos as trend pieces or quick decoration. He talks about them as stories people carry. One of the most meaningful examples for him was tattooing his oldest son’s sleeve, working through the process together and helping shape something deeply personal into permanent art. It is a lovely image, really. A father and son building a visual story together. There is trust in that. Also, skill, obviously, but trust first. That dynamic lands on the walls of the gallery as well through collaborative paintings by Franko - a collaboration between Francis and his son, where paintings come alive ten minutes at a time, switching between the two multitalented artists.
The gallery side of the business matters just as much. Francis wants the storefront to feel welcoming, even to people who might be unsure whether a tattoo studio is “for them.” Art up front changes the tone. It invites people in. It says this is a place to browse, to ask questions, to see how many different forms creativity can take. It also reflects the practical reality that not every creative life follows a straight line. Francis knows that firsthand. He understands the tension between making art for joy and turning art into a business. He knows that monetizing a hobby can sometimes flatten the very thing that made it meaningful. Still, he knows that for some people, under the right circumstances, it can really become a livelihood. That is part of why teaching still matters so much to him. Francis hopes to offer classes in the space again, not in a rigid, overly technical way, but in a way that helps people reconnect with play. That word came up, and it stuck. Play. He wants adults to find the child in themselves again. To experiment. To stop treating creativity like a pass-fail test. He describes art as something collaborative and inspiring, and in a conversation that felt completely genuine. You get the sense that he is not interested in producing perfect copies of his own style. He wants people to discover their own. There is also a broader community vision at work here. Francis spoke about wanting to host art socials, bring artists together both formally and informally, encourage people to work side by side, and create an atmosphere where music, conversation, and making can happen in the same room. He talked about downtown not just as a place to do business, but as a place with spirit. He wants visitors to stay longer. To get a tattoo appointment and then wander Talbot Street. To notice another shop. To grab coffee. To pick up a book. To leave St. Thomas talking not just about one storefront, but about the whole experience of being here.  That kind of thinking fits St. Thomas well. The city has always had a creative streak, even if it sometimes hides in plain sight. Francis noticed it quickly when he arrived: the murals, the trails, the architecture, the sense that something was happening here. He is not wrong. St. Thomas has this interesting habit of surprising people who take the time to look again. Or maybe a first real time. At FranKingstyle, that second look is built into the experience. There is one more part of Francis’ vision worth mentioning. He has ideas about using art as a point of connection for people who are often overlooked in the community. That work is still developing, but the impulse behind it feels important. Francis understands that creativity is not a luxury reserved for a certain kind of person. It can be grounding. It can be expressive. It can help someone feel seen. For a business rooted so deeply in personal expression, that perspective feels not only compassionate but consistent. The gallery has featured artists from across Southern Ontario and offers commissioned work, custom projects, tattoos, and gift cards, with appointments arranged directly through the business. Maybe that is the best way to think about the space. Not just as a tattoo studio. Not just as a gallery. Not just as a business. But as an evolving creative home for people who still want art to feel human, surprising, a little unruly, and very much alive. If you go
2 Comments
3/26/2026 12:00:00 pm
This is a very accurate description, of not only the physical place but, of the mastermind behind it. Francis' emotional connection to all his Art mediums translate into incredible Art pieces, not just on the traditional canvas but also on those walking around. I carry with me a collaborative Art piece that I get to admire for the rest of my life. Francis heard the story, my story, saw my vision, pieced it together with our images and transferred it beautifully to my personal canvas, my skin. Entering into this space in our community, is an emotional experience everyone should enjoy.
Jenny Boutelgier
3/26/2026 09:31:35 pm
You sir, are a legend! Leave a Reply. |
