John St. John - The Artist

"We were brought up to believe that we should make some contribution to the world, to leave something behind which would survive us, or to make the world a better place in which to live."

John St. John - the Artist

From printed information I received from Mr. St. John's gallery in Solvang, California in 1984.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, John St. John graduated from the University of Kentucky, he was a Maxell Fellow at Syracuse University and he received a M.S. from there.

During three years of professional training in art, Mr. St. John studied with Jerry Farnsworth, Eliot O'Hara, Dong Kingman, Vaclav Vytlacil, Jose Gutierrez and others.

In regional and national competitions, his works have been hung in the Ringling Museum of Art, Atlanta, the J.B. Speed Museum, Louisville, The Evansville Museum, Indiana among others.

Mr. St. John's works are included in the permanent collections of:

Museo de Arte, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Museum Tel Aviv, Israel
Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
Palacio Nacional, Cartegena, Colombia
Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois
Escuela de Bellas Artes, Lima, Peru
Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Arts-in-the-Embassy Program, U.S. State Dept.

His many public murals include five commissioned by Coral Gables, he has executed six murals for the commonwealth of Kentucky, among these public works is the first exterior monumental mural on a public building in the United States - A History of Florida. It is 350 feet in length and three stories high on the campus of the University of Miami.

"Painting reflects the purest freedom of a soaring spirit unbound, search for adventure truth and reality with Integrity, courage and independence..... seeking to touch the spirit of another" - Quote from "Visions of Reality in oil paintings"

All of Mr. St. John's paintings are executed only with the painting knife. His oils of cities, mountains, trees and the sea are often carried from reality through abstraction to almost non-objectivity.

What Critics Have Said

Frank Getl ein. art critic, The Washington (D.C.) Star:
"John St. John uses a palette knife in short, sharp, regular movements and with a rare taste in color relationships. The resulting pictures suggest country hill or water, desert scenes and other places, but they contain a full measure of visual fascination in sheer texture.

"In two instances, a large bull and a nude, Mr. St. John applies this shimmering technique to subjects other than landscapes and it works equally well. He's an excellent artist with a lot of pleasure for the viewer."

Dr. Artura Machuca Padin, art critic, El Dia:
"John St. John is a mature artist. He knows where he is going and will go forward without vacillation to his artistic destiny. He possesses a perception and a dominance which enables him to carry to the canvas his intellectual and emotional world. A singular and subjective world.

"There are no melodramatic jarrings... no distorted shoutings... no crazy passions... there is command over all... there is dignity of control.

"Here is the satisfaction of finding the lost road, the perfect vehicle of communication and expression. Eternal satisfaction."

John Scott Thomas, art critic, The Rocky Mount (N.C.) Telegram:
"Mr. St. John's work features color and light - delicate, subtle color or stronger and more positive color with relationships and transitions that are surely delightful.

"Just how well he succeeds is shown in the sparkling panoramic landscapes. Whether they are of land, sea or sky, or all of them combined, he primarily captures the feeling of light. He conveys the sense of space, the material sense of structure expected of a knowledgeable painter, but he shows that his first and most important statement is his own personal one of color and light.

"In the more abstract work, he finally integrates air, sky and mountains into what amounts to an emotional experience and the positive elements, once villages, are now jewels."

Maurice LaReau, are editor, Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) News and Sun Sentinel:
"This very capable painter brings a colorful collection of exciting oils... depicting his interpretation of Puerto Rico in abstract and semi-abstract terms. St. John shows a tremendous productivity and knowledge. He strives for an "honest statement". St. John's philosophy is well stated in his current show. One will find a sincere, subtle but powerful expressionism in this American's work."

About John St. John

John St. John - the Artist

What Critics Have Said

John St. John -The Artist