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. 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. To steal a line from an Indigo Girls song, “I’m trying to tell you something about my life.” That is what I really want in my art, and in my life. By reflecting myself honestly in my art, words, and life, I hope to connect with people who share some common values. If I can show you something that I created, thought, and felt, and that touches you in some way, I think that connects us.
I paint in watercolor, pen and wash, pencil, and in words.
I’m at my most creative early. 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 make art in my home studio, and on the streets of the city. 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; beauty and meaning in most everything. The crumbling bricks of an old building are our souls laid bare, sagging power lines strung across a city alley are our struggle to rise above the fray, the braided strands of a river the twisted path of my own life’s journey. It all means something more than what we simply see. If we take the time to look.
—John Kennedy
