Meet John!

Yes, it's time for another installment in our "Meet the Artist" series. This time, we're proud to introduce John. Blog followers are familiar with his distinctive style and eager to learn more about his inspirations and working methods. We're ready to oblige, so let's get started.

For starters, you'll notice that we don't have a self-portrait of John (or even a portrait). We briefly toyed with the idea of substituting one of Ken or even Santa (after all, don't all hat-wearing men with beards look alike?), but that seemed like cheating, so we went with one of John's drawings instead. Yes, you read that right. John prefers drawing to painting. He has his reasons, starting with the fact that John's been drawing since he was a young boy. This explains the speed and skill with which he produces the drawings that follow. Each intricate drawing typically takes him only a week or so.

Here we are looking at the contents of a book he put together. (More about this later)

Basically, there are three things you need to know about John.

1. He loves fairy tales (particularly fairy tales from the French Alps)
2. He loves to draw (and he's very good at it!)
3. He loves his daughter (he's put together several books dedicated to her and/or commemorating vacations they've shared ... in the French Alps, naturally)

Beyond that, his work really speaks for itself. Let's let the viewing begin!

Everyone is probably familiar with his recent illustration of the "Landlord" story. We've seen the story progress through his drawings. In this case, each drawing slowly furthered the tale—like cells in an animated film. Here are a few of them from the very end of the story:

Impressive, right? We're amazed by his persistence as he immerses himself in the same story for months at a time. Each drawing is interesting, both as part of the series, and as a stand-alone piece.

But John's also accomplished at another style of illustration. Here we see some of the contents of a book he put together for his daughter commemorating her college graduation, as well as the anniversary of their trip to the French Alps. The book is a collection of fairy tales from the region and each page illustrates an entire story. Rather than using many drawings, here he distills the essence of a well-known folk tale into one picture.

 

Take a few moments to study the drawings. They are beautifully composed, with something interesting happening on every part of the picture plane. Here are a few, up close and personal.

And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you. Those are French captions. Yes, John speaks French fluently, having spent time teaching science at a French school.

While John has worked in watercolor (and you'll see some below), he likes the control and detail he can achieve with colored pencils. Not to mention that once he's chosen a medium, he needs to maintain consistency throughout the entire book.

Here are some pages from another bound book. This one is also from a trip to the French Alps with his daughter. This also illustrates some of their favorite fairy tales and tall tales.

Amazing souvenirs, aren't they? Certainly a step above a handful of postcards. Definitely a trip neither of them will ever forget.

So how do we sum up John through his art?

• First and foremost, John is almost obsessive as he follows his passion. When he's interested in something, he researches and dives into it—to the point where he's a global authority on the subject. 
• John is a a master at composition and possessed of a vivid visual imagination. All of his drawings are from his imagination. He does his research, but does not draw from a reference photo. Also, he tends to fill every inch of his paper thoughtfully and deliberately. Nothing is purposeless; every stroke furthers the story.
• As we mentioned before, John loves fairy tales, drawing and his daughter (not in that order, of course). He's also intrigued by the devil and the strange creatures that inhabit these tales.
• John is a storyteller at heart. In his case, though, he uses colored pencils rather than a pen or typewriter. 

Isn't it amazing? We all use color and paper, but we are each unique in what we paint and how. It's intriguing to see our individual histories, too, and how we grow and develop as an artist.

Join us next week to meet yet another artist—oh, yes, there are more to come!