Interview

Written By Editorial Team

John Thompson

Born in 1965, John lived outside of the steel mills of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where in his younger years he started his interest in art. His mother was a kind, nurturing mother who placed the pencil in his hand at the age of 2; he has drawn and painted ever since. Before his 4th birthday, his father found work in Elkhart Indiana, so they moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana to start a new life.

 

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“When I turned 11, I got involved with 8 other artists in the area, we encouraged each other and pushed 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 entered 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: the Professors were giving private lessons at the college level and 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, I started a job in a hospital as a cook, I thought it would be a creative outlet. I still kept up with my drawing, painting and working at the hospital. Then in 1987, I just got home and my mother sat me down to let me know that Jamie had been killed. She was one of my artist friends from my childhood who was working on her 4th Language, she was only 17 years of age. I stopped drawing and painting. Then, in the summer of 2011, I ran into one of the Professors at a coffee house and she encouraged me back into the arts, so slowly I picked up my pencil and painted and made my way back into the arts. Since then, I have been involved in regionals at the Midwest Museum of American Art every September for the past 6 years. In 2019, I flew to France to learn the French Culture, language, which gave me more inspiration for my biggest collection thus far. In 2020, I moved to Chicago to full fill my passion for the arts. In 2023, I was able to get involved with some of the artists at Bridgeport Art Center. At the center we have Open House every 3rd Friday of the month where I get a chance to connect with the public and other fellow artists to show my work and talk about some of the commissions I have been working on. It’s been very rewarding to me as an artist and a human being.”

What inspires you?

“I am inspired by the natural world and the connections I have made with people.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I record history and current events that have occurred in my lifetime. I also record the dreams I have had; my dreams have always occurred in black, white, and grey. The message in my artwork is to give people hope and not to give up on life.”

How would you describe your work?

“My artwork is a private conversation with God and what comes out of the work are the conclusions from the conversation.”

Which artists influence you most?

“There are many artists that have influenced my work. Matisse, Corot, Dali, Monet, Manet, Richard Diebenkorn, and Cezanne.”

“To be good at anything, you have to let go of your greatness, to see the good in everything.”

What is your creative process like?

“I usually sketch and draw in pencil and charcoal for about an hour before I get into my painting. It’s a exercise I go through in order to give my best to each composition that I am working on.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“An artist’s role is to record history and to help people interpret the events that are occurring around them. As the world becomes a more complex place to live in, art can help to take you away from your daily troubles, even if its just a minute.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“My active involvement at Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago and the role I have played as an artist who is young at heart. A noteworthy painting of mine is the called The Red Seed. I showed this painting back in November 2023. The painting records the events of this decade. I believe what happens in this Decade will define the decades to come, that is what this painting represent.”

 
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