Featured Artist John McLaughlin

Artsy Shark presents featured artist John McLaughlin. His works – drawings, paintings and collage on paper – have been shown in many exhibitions including solo shows. Incorporating elements that are childlike, eccentric, charming and intriguing, John’s images can be seen as a whole portfolio, along with his photography, on his website.

Artist Statement

I was born in Detroit Michigan in 1954. I am a completely self taught artist and have been creating and drawing all my life.  My working method combines my subconscious, or spirit, along with more deliberate thought out mark making.  In a childlike manner, my scribbles and lines are made.  In a more conscious manner, representational  drawings  are made, showing both man made and natural forms.

My drawings and paintings are a manifestation of a life long observation of the world around me filtered through my emotions.  I believe the viewer should interpret my work any way they like. What it means to me may be different for them.  To me this is the intrigue of abstract art.

Most of my work begins  with an ivory colored background, on either paper or canvas. I then layer on drawings and paint over a period of time using crayons, graphite pencil, colored pencils, oil  and acrylic paint along with pasted on paper cut outs.

My Goals:

My goal is to have my work at the Museum of Modern Art. Why not set high goals?  But realistically I hope I can continue to make paintings and drawings for the rest of my life. And to sell some work and donate some, as I do each year, to charitible causes. I was proud to have two paintings sold at this years Design on a Dime showcase fundraiser in New York City for  A.I.D.S. patients.  This along with the feedback I get from collectors makes it all worthwhile.

Working On:

I continue to explore the relationship between my drawings and paintings and the combination of the two. The landscape ground on my canvas may become full of reference material leading to representation or it may become empty with a more subtle use of line and color. I like to combine the aspects of abstract expressionism with  child-like drawn objects to gain a more inner discovery. Since I work intuitively I never know exactly where my work will take me, I just follow along and work from the subconscious level.