In The Afternoon Painting

I began drawing as a young child and was always encouraged by my parents to pursue my passion for art. At the age of thirteen, I discovered Van Gogh and was mesmerized by the deep emotional impact of his work. So I began to paint.. I am pretty much self taught and have experimented with many types of media and processes; painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and photography. I have always been interested in the human figure and how through gesture, expression but most importantly emotion, a story can be told that the viewer can relate to. My mother would take me to Mc Donalds to ‘people watch’ as she called it. I would see little dramas, movements and gestures. These resonated with me and became the well from which I began to pull my imagery. I was drawing and painting constantly. People I knew, people I didn’t, in airports, restaurants and my studio, everywhere. I studied art history and was building a body of work. I began to enter juried shows and approach galleries for representation. In 2010 my son Ryan, died at the age of 26 from a drug overdose. My work took on a deeper and more somber tone in theme and content. I chose black and white for my palette and began exploring the themes of time, memory, dreams and survival. I believe I have been given a gift by this event. I’ve been to a place of deep and unimaginable emotional experience that has allowed me to make art of extraordinary depth. Through painting I’ve realized the full magnitude and power of art as a way of healing. . My work is every emotion and the absence of emotion..images of vulnerability, endurance, desperation and sorrow, relief and joy. It is what you are when you see it. It’s human, it’s alive" I begin a work with a series of sketches. I experiment with the placement of the image on the page until I’m satisfied that the composition is balanced and will provide the most impact. This allows me to commit to the canvas with confidence and a minimum of correction. . John W. Carlson Always artistically gifted, John began his career as an artist by attending Cleveland’s Cooper School of Art. Inspired by the works of Egon Schiele, Franz Kline, Edward Hopper and Lucien Freud, John strives to find a balance between expressive drawings and boldly executed paintings. John often combines traditional oils with alkalids, charcoal and graphite. Working mostly on large canvases, he freely applies his medium without sacrificing subtle emotional details.