John Thompson

Born in 1965, I lived outside of the steel mills of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where in my younger years I started my interest in art. My Mother was a kind, Nurturing Mother who placed the pencil in my hand at the age of 2, I have drawn and painted ever since. Before my 4th birthday my Father found work in Elkhart Indiana, so we moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana to start a new life together as a Family. At the time there was my Mother, Father, my little brother and I. Since then 2 more siblings were added to our Family to make 6.

When I turned 11 years of age I got involved with 8 other Artist in the area , we encouraged each other and push each other in our art, some danced, sang, wrote and spoke in many languages and then there was me who drew and painted the landscape and the people in it. When I enter the 10th grade I was encouraged by some of my Teachers to attend the night classes they were teaching that offered drawing and painting lessons at the High School and also at IUSB. So my Mother signed me up for 2 reasons, 1 the Professors were giving private lessons at the college level and 2 it got me off the streets of Elkhart. I did not have much aptitude to sit still in a large class room setting.

When I graduated high school...

IUSB " Study American and World History In The Arts"
Goshen" College Advance Drawing and Draft work"