Ricardo Osmondo Francis was born to an African American mother and a Panamanian father in Houston, Texas. He was raised in Los Angeles, California and Houston, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He received a B.F.A. in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Francis founded Apanamae Productions, an independent art company, and worked as director of the LeonidesArts NY Gallery in New York City.