Born in Namur, Belgium, Jean Francois Detaille discovered his passion for art at an early age. Painting was his father’s hobby, and on vacations with his parents in Spain and the South of France Jean Francois would watch the local artists create on-the-spot portraits for the tourists. In 1975, after a chance encounter with Salvador Dali, Jean Francois realized that the quite life of the studio artist was not for him.

In 1976, he enrolled in the Academy des Beaux Arts in Belgium - home of such artists as Jan van Eyck, Brueghel, Rubens, James Ensor, Alechinsky and others - to develop his talent along more formal lines. Upon completion, he enrolled in the Academy des Beaux Arts de Paris, school of impressionistic painters Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Jean Fracois Millet, Paul Gauguin and Henri Matisse, and surrealist Salvador Dali.

Jean Francois’ desire for adventure led him to travel widely. In 1982, he packed his bags and art supplies and traveled around the world on a sailboat, painting thousands of paintings along the way. The Caribbean, Hawaii and Tahiti were his new themes and his boat was his studio.

In 1997, Jean Francois was asked to perform in the show “Madhatten” at the Las Vegas based New York New York Hotel & Casino. That engagement resulted in numerous invitations from producers and event planners in several countries, leading him to travel the world once again. In 2000, he was named the Spotlight Awards Entertainer of the Year for the special/corporate event market. Since then, he has received several other awards and accolades.