John Kennedy

 I’m not who I was 50, or 30, or ten years ago. Or even 2 years ago. I am a new person. I am an artist. It took a long time to be able to say that out loud.

To steal a line from an Indigo Girls song, “I’m trying to tell you something about my life.” I think deep down so many of us share the same values, the same internal truths. If I can show you something that I created that touches you in some way, I think that connects us. That is what I really want in my art, and in my life. To connect with people who share some common values.

I paint in watercolor, pen and wash, pencil, and in words.

I make art in my home studio, and on the streets of the city. But the seeds are often planted during my early morning run, my hike up a mountain trail, or a walk along a busy downtown street. 

I’m at my most creative early. On a good day art is like fly fishing, it commands my full attention. I’ll start with a hot cup of coffee and when I finally reach for it find it has gone cold. To be so engrossed in the painting or sketch that I lose track of time is the gift that art can give.

In my studio work I generally work from photographs I’ve taken in my wanderings. A scene will catch my eye that sparks something, and I’ll want to paint it, draw it, write it. My urban art is all done on location, sitting on a street corner or alleyway in the city. Most of my text annotation is done later, after I’ve had a chance to reflect on, and to parse significant thoughts and feelings from the day. There are so many things to appreciate even on the most average day. There is beauty in everything if you really look. Life, I’ve found, is a metaphor waiting to be discovered. My hope is to discover some, and reflect them in my art and in my words.