Featured Artist John Bolster

Artist John Bolster left the corporate world behind to produce vibrant, mixed media digital art that speaks about human interaction. View more of his portfolio by visiting his website.

 

 

I’ve loved art ever since I was a kid. I’d draw with anything—pencils, pastels, paint, you name it.

 

 

I was good, but it wasn’t until I started messing with computers as a teen that I discovered my true passion for design and photo manipulation.

 

 

Over the next twenty years, I would turn that passion into a process that landed me graphic art and branding gigs for companies large and small. I love what I do, but the artist in me has always felt a bit constrained working inside of someone else’s brand.

 

 

Abstratica was created as a personal playground, a place where I could explore my ideas 100% “straightjacket free” using intuition and executing without restraint to visualize the world around me.

 

 

Here, I blend photography, scans, acrylic painting and drawing into a mixed media digital cocktail that is bold, random and for me, personal. Why? Because for better or worse, this is our world. Don’t just stand there—be captivated by all of it.

 

 

I’ve always had a thing for texture, the way paint leaves its mark on canvas, or how urban decay exposes itself in layers. I photograph texture wherever I go, and sometimes even create it from scratch.

 

 

My “Communication Breakdown” series focuses on the decaying of human interaction in the information age.

 

 

These pieces rely on heavy doses of abstract typography and randomness, with layers of paint, color and type that blend in rich and complicated ways.

 

 

Abstratica is ultimately about personal expression—inspired by everything from social issues, people’s behavior, or even garbage on the street.

 

 

My work is unique in its own right. Whatever it is, it’s a reflection of how I’m feeling on a particular day. In the midst of the chaos that is the world around us, I use art to stay conscious of things that move me.

 

Artist John Bolster invites you to follow him on Instagram.

 

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