Featured Artist John Held

Light-filled idyllic landscapes by artist John Held convey a sense of peace and serenity. Visit his website to see more of his oils and pastels.

 

 

It was after seeing a Magritte show at the tender age of eleven, and eating the first eclair of my life upstairs in the Member’s Lounge of the Museum of Modern Art, I realized that I was an artist too.

 

 

Let me explain.

 

 

When I was a child, I had no idea that my sisters and I were well-behaved. I didn’t realize that most kids who lived in my small town didn’t spend a lot of days in Manhattan exploring the art the city had to offer, and being taken out to the best restaurants in Manhattan.

 

 

“I’m an artist,” I would tell the other kids on the school bus.

“How can you be an artist when we never see you doing any art?” they would taunt me.

 

 

“I’m an artist because I have the vision,” I would reply. And I was right. The three wonderful galleries that represent me now are proof of that.

 

 

My paintings are known for the sense of peace they have, and the way in which I handle light in my work. I have had two shows at the National Institute of Health where I learned that such artwork allows their patients to heal significantly faster.

 

 

I am always delighted with how my hands and brushes just seem to know where the paint and pastels need to be as my working day unfolds.

 

 

As the owner of the Troika Gallery has said, “John Davis Held has a passion for portraying the peaceful essences of the sky, earth, and water. He has the innate ability to translate the ordinary into the extraordinary. His paintings of idyllic scenes bathed in serenity touch your soul.”

 

 

My art is living proof to me that there is a wonderful mystery to the universe we live in. My practice in art is a way to probe the edges of this mystery.

 

Artist John Held invites you to follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

 

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