Visitors of STAMP, I would like to introduce our next feature artist. Unlike most artists, John came into art from the outside looking in. Meaning, he studied art history, mainly the language of art, and not the application of paints and canvases. Which to me, gave him a better understanding of the craft to translate the imagination and understand the psychology of the visual depiction.  Enough with the small talk, join in on the conversation…..

By day I work as a character artist in the game industry, by night I’m a roosting spot for my cat to sleep on. Oh, and I paint.

I never know what to say when people ask me where I’m from. My dad was in aerospace and my family moved a lot while I was growing up. I was born in St. Louis, but I’ve spent a good chunk of my life living outside the U.S., in Japan (twice) for nearly 12 years, Greece, and Spain, plus various places around the U.S. Because of having such a diversified background, I don’t think I’m typically American.

STAMP: When did you become interested in art?
John: When I was 11 and 12 years old my family lived in Athens and you couldn’t throw a rock and not hit some bit of history or ding a priceless artifact. It was everywhere. My school bus used to drive past the Acropolis every morning and in the summers we lived not far from Olympia. But unrelated to the cultural significance around me at the time, one of the first major eye-openers happened to me when I discovered the Asterix comics. I had a ton of American comic books, but Asterix was in a class by itself. The fluidity of the drawings, the colors, even the quality of printing made a lasting impression and they became my most prized possessions. For the first time I saw a popular art form that wasn’t throw away.

Even though I was starting to get the first inklings about discerning good art from bad, I was too hyperactive to sit still and draw anything. It wasn’t until high school that I made my first serious attempts. One summer I stole the door off my school locker, took it home, and painted it up. It didn’t last but two weeks or so before it was vandalized by some vigilante art critic, though.

STAMP: What is your medium of choice and why?
John: I’ve always loved the look of oil paint and feel that it is the most versatile of all mediums. Plus, I like to push stuff around for a while before I commit to it.

STAMP: Did you study at an art school? If so which one and how was that experience? If not, do you wish you did?
John: I come from a different kind of background than many of the artists I come into contact with. I studied art history (and some conservation/ restoration) at the University of Madrid. The focus was on the language of art and very little attention was given to the technical aspects of how the paintings I admired were put together.

Of course, that’s what I really wanted to know! I spent countless hours at the Museo Del Prado scrutinizing Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights”, the works by Memling and Van Der Weyden, and of course Velasquez and Titian, trying to deduce how these things were made. There was no one around me who knew anything useful about traditional technique, so I had to figure it out for myself. You could say that I basically come from the “sheer force of will” school of art.

Ultimately, I cooled on the art history approach because at its heart it was more about translating the visual experience into literature – a completely different medium. Though I considered what I was learning at the time to be very valuable, I also wanted to make my own paintings and the only thing I was learning was how to be a fan of other people’s work.

STAMP: Are there any historical or contemporary artists that you specifically admire or that you are inspired by?
John: Duchamp’s “Urinal” is one of my all time favorite pieces. It’s a genius statement about context and perceived value. I also love the 15th century Flemish painters (Van Eyck, Memling, Van der Weyden, etc). Their jewel-like execution and exquisite calligraphy transcend being simply images and place the emphasis squarely on their quality as art objects. I’m a huge fan of Pierre et Gilles, and I’m also influenced a lot by Japanese mythology and popular culture, the novels of Haruki Murakami, and the music of Brian Eno.

I’m also a big fan of Brian Despain, Travis Louie, Femke Hiemstra, Todd Schorr, Eric White, etc.

STAMP: I see that several of your pieces carry a spiritual undertone. Care to explain?
John: To me, any kind of perceived spirituality in my work is a kitsch element. If anything it’s a kind of faux spirituality. I love the graceful poses and iconography of the 15th century Flemish painters and try to carry that over in my work, and I think people tend to read that kind of imagery as being spiritual. But ultimately, I’m not trying to communicate any spiritual message. I’m only doing what the paintings require to be good, in my view.

One of the recurring “characters” that I depict is the baku (tapir). This comes from the Japanese myth of the baku being the “dream-eater”. It devours bad dreams. So when a child has a nightmare he can give it to the baku to eat and make it go away. Of course, we all have things in our lives that we wish we could get rid of so easily! I loved this idea and thought it could be something fun to play with.

STAMP: Can you remember the first piece you ever did and what inspired you to do it?
John: In high school I was really into photography. But there was an image that I had in my head from a dream that I wanted to get down. And since I couldn’t take a photo of it I decided to try to paint it. I enjoyed the experience so much that I switched mediums on the spot.

STAMP: Can you tell any interesting stories about specific pieces, artists, or projects that you’ve worked on?
John: I used to work with Brian Despain before he moved to Florida. In fact, he was the one who first introduced me to Kirsten Anderson at Roq La Rue. Up to that point I had quite a few paintings and drawings, but almost nothing was finished. He basically kicked the training wheels off my bike and pushed me down the hill and through the gallery doors. I’m really grateful to him for that. We used to bring the pieces we were working on at home to the office to get each other’s critique. It was a really valuable experience for me because Brian is such an amazing artist. I can’t overstate just what a huge influence he was/ is on me. He and I share a very similar way of looking at art and I really miss having him around.

STAMP: What have been your favorite projects to work on to date? Why?
John: My favorite project is always the one I’m currently working on because it’s always the one that has the most potential. I recently finished a piece called “The Mantra Waterfall” that I really loved working on. And at 32″ x 40″ it’s the largest piece I’ve done in a long time. Every painting is a challenge and requires a ton of work. But pain and discomfort are temporary, the resulting artwork is forever.

STAMP: What are your challenges as an artist?
John: My challenges are mostly of a technical nature, always trying to push my technique forward. I have no problem coming up with ideas. I’ve got a notebook full of them. More than I could ever do in my lifetime. In that way, I’m lucky. I know a lot of artists who really struggle with ideas. But I’m always looking for ways to improve my painting skills and speed up the process.

STAMP: Have you ever created an amazing piece by mistake?
John: There have certainly been happy accidents, but nothing that has carried over into creating an entire piece. In a way, I would be opposed to it because unless you work this way all the time, like Francis Bacon did, I think you run the risk of having an inconsistent style.

STAMP: Describe the process behind creating one of your thought provoking pieces?
John: My working method is divided into two distinct phases. First is the conceptual stage where I come up with the idea and then work up the composition and color study, basically work out all the technical issues in advance. This is where all the creative work is done. The second stage is execution. In this stage I’m thinking only about technical issues. There is little or no artistic interpretation at this point. It’s all about executing a finely crafted painting to the best of my ability.

STAMP: What role do you feel the internet has on art? Positive or negative?
John: I think it’s a good thing. The internet allows artists a greater opportunity to have their work seen by a larger number of people than they would just in a gallery.

STAMP: What are your feelings on the constant fight between traditional (gallery art) and commercial art?
John: Yeah, I think the argument goes something like this….

The essence of commercial art is that it’s made with the audience in mind. On the other hand, art-for-art’s-sake prides itself on being free of any outside influences other than the artist’s personal and subjective vision. The commercial artist would argue that the traditional artist is wasting time by being overly self-indulgent and running the risk of alienating the audience. My response is that just like in biology, isolation breeds diversity. That kind of independence is the doorway to true innovation. And the art-for-art’s-sake artist would say that the commercial artist is selling out. But I would counter that it’s not selling out if you’re doing what you love to do.

That’s why I like Pop-Surrealism. It’s a kind of hybrid that strikes a nice balance between art that has commercial or pop appeal and purely subjective art.

STAMP: Do u feel like your work is evolving?
John: Yeah, I feel it’s coming down from the trees and starting to walk upright.

STAMP: What advice would you give a young artist just starting or trying to get started?
John: I think for many artists who are starting out, especially Americans, the idea of honing your craft over many years (decades even) is a difficult concept to come to terms with. Our culture is so spoiled by instant gratification and few people trying to tackle the challenges of making art by traditional means can make the adjustment to being patient. Todd Schorr once said that it took him a good 10 years before he could get the paint to do what he wanted. Many artists give up when it becomes difficult and when they can’t see steady progress. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve trashed canvases and snapped brushes in frustration. Even Salvador Dali knocked out one of his own teeth after punching himself in the face in a fit of rage. But If you work hard you can’t help but get better. It’s just that simple.

STAMP: What can we expect in the future from you?
John: Next June ‘11 I’m having another show at Roq La Rue that I’m preparing for it now. So be there or be square.

18. Do you agree with the overall objective of STAMP Magazine? Why or Why Not?
Thanks Stamp for giving exposure to so many talented artists!

To see more work from John visit his website: www.jbrophy.com; or visit his Facebook page