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<p>Perry Milou is a pop artist and South Philadelphia native who often finds inspiration in his surroundings. He painted all-star shortstop Jimmy Rollins during the Phillies championship runs, and he painted alluring portraits of lips while immersed in the bright colors and sexuality of Miami, Florida. Now he is touring with renditions of perhaps his most iconic subject, the Pope, and he is bringing his work to Scranton.</p><p>Milou, who showed five original portraits of Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families Congress at the PA Convention Center during the week leading up to the pontiff&#8217;s arrival, will bring his work to POSH at the Scranton Club on Oct. 2. The painter will show the series of oil paintings, called &#8220;The Faces of Francis,&#8221; and have a meet and greet reception from 5 to 8 p.m. where he&#8217;ll sign merchandise and speak about his inspiration.</p><p>The inspiration came to Milou when he realized Francis was coming to Philadelphia and was reinforced by what he calls a cyclical spiritual connection.</p><p>&#8220;I was home one night in early February, and it was announced on national television that Pope Francis was going to visit the country and especially do a flagship speech or mass only in Philadelphia,&#8221; Milou said. &#8220;Usually when something happens in Philadelphia, I get inspired to paint it.&#8221;</p><p>Milou said after he saw the news, his wife reminded him that he was born on Oct. 4, St. Francis Day. From that point, the artist realized one personal connection to the pope after another. His grandfather&#8217;s name is Francis DeFrancesco. His mother&#8217;s name is Angel, his wife&#8217;s, Angela, his father-in-law&#8217;s, Angelo, and his daughter is named Francesca.</p><p>Milou took these connections as signs that he was destined to paint Pope Francis. In just eight hours he had created the first painting in the series, &#8220;A Prayer for Peace.&#8221;</p><p>With the series completed, Milou is visiting Scranton, where he said he wouldn&#8217;t have thought to visit had it not been for his publicist, who has an account at the Scranton Club.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m all about doing cross promotional events,&#8221; Milou said. &#8220;Certainly the Pope Francis concept of my project is more than a Philadelphia event; it&#8217;s a global event, and I&#8217;m for sharing my art all around the world.&#8221;</p><p>Milou lists his influences among the giants of the pop-art movement in Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, but he resists some of the more mechanical media that is part of the genre.</p><p>Although photography and graphic design are part of the mixed media of pop-art, Milou creates his pieces by brush stroke, and the only graphics involved are inserted with the prints produced after paintings are complete.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve coined myself &#8216;fine-pop,&#8217; because I think that I&#8217;m a combination of somebody that has painterly techniques and pop techniques combined into one,&#8221; Milou said.</p><p>Many of Milou&#8217;s pieces are in the vein of those who came before him, but his portraits of Pope Francis are different.</p><p>&#8220;Pop means painting imagery that&#8217;s in pop culture for the current time and painting in that flat, bold, minimalist style, a la the way Warhol created it,&#8221; Milou said.</p><p>&#8220;The Faces of Francis&#8221; are not painted in that style, he said.</p><p>Milou, who said he loves to paint freedom fighters, those who battle for human rights and against injustice, related painting &#8220;A Prayer for Peace&#8221; to catching lightning in a bottle.</p><p>&#8220;The portrait I think is one of the best portraits I&#8217;ve created and I think it has the potential to be a contemporary masterpiece that supports his legacy,&#8221; Milou said.</p><p>A survivor of a 10-hour surgery to remove a benign mass from his brain a decade ago, Milou has found a perspective on life that is heavily involved in spreading positive messages and giving what he can to people in need.</p><p>If Milou finds a buyer for the original version of &#8220;A Prayer for Peace,&#8221; he will give 100 percent of the proceeds to charity.</p><p>He hopes that by touring with his work, he can share the message of a pontiff who preaches peace, love and acceptance.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Philadelphia pop artist Perry Milou, seen here in front of his work &#8220;A Prayer for Peace,&#8221; will bring his series of portraits of Pope Francis to POSH at the Scranton Club on Oct. 2. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Perry2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Philadelphia pop artist Perry Milou, seen here in front of his work &#8220;A Prayer for Peace,&#8221; will bring his series of portraits of Pope Francis to POSH at the Scranton Club on Oct. 2. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_FacesofFrancis2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">All five paintings in Perry Milou&#8217;s series were displayed at the PA Convention Center during the World Meeting of Families last week in Philadelphia. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_FacesofFrancis2.jpg</photo1><caption1>All five paintings in Perry Milou&#8217;s series were displayed at the PA Convention Center during the World Meeting of Families last week in Philadelphia. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Equal2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Perry Milou&#8217;s creation, entitle &#8220;Created Equal&#8221; shows his pop-art influence. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Equal2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Perry Milou&#8217;s creation, entitle &#8220;Created Equal&#8221; shows his pop-art influence. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Pop artist Perry Milou to bring paintings of Pope Francis to POSH at the Scranton Club</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Philadelphia pop artist Perry Milou bringing portraits of Pope Francis to POSH at the Scranton Club