Born and raised in the New York Metropolitan area, I have been a professional artist for over 40 years.\u00a0 I began my formal study of art at the Swain School of Design, where I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts.\u00a0 The school, founded in 1884, was located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a city once known throughout the world as the nation\u2019s leading whaling port.\u00a0 Its artistic past is likewise storied, having been the childhood home of painters Albert Bierstadt and Albert Pinkham Ryder.\u00a0 Another local artist to achieve international acclaim, William Bradford, known for his luminous depictions of the North Atlantic sealing grounds, set out on his Arctic painting and photographic voyages from the city\u2019s waterfront.\u00a0 It was into this rich heritage that this budding artist arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I quickly grew to love the region\u2019s unique landscape and its broad, encyclopedic collection of old buildings, many, at least then, in various states of disrepair.\u00a0 Along with a few of my fellow artists, I turned my attention to these buildings and their South Coast environments, often tramping through the woods or over the coastal dunes to capture that intersection where the two met.\u00a0 It is often in this intersection that I find myself most comfortable, recording the struggle between the two; nature seeking to reclaim that which it only grudgingly ceded and the structure in opposition, stubbornly clinging to its original purpose long after its utility has been compromised.\u00a0 I am an ardent traveler and my paintings often depict those locations to which I have traveled; the buildings I have seen often rise again within the confines of the picture plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am a classical landscape painter, but I draw my inspiration from artists as varied as John Constable, John Marin, Maurice Prendergast and the early-twentieth-century Canadian movement known collectively as the Group of Seven. The two things of most immediate concern to me when starting a picture are structure and color. In the initial stages of the painting, I try to concern myself with the development of what is known as the ‘golden ratio’, and with the movement of specific colors within the picture plane. As the picture develops, I try to build off of these elements, since they add focus and interest to the finished composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After completing my undergraduate studies, my interest in architecture extended beyond the canvas when I worked for a time as an architectural draftsman.\u00a0 I continue to design houses and occasionally construct architectural models, which are all outgrowths of this original interest in the nature of the built environment.\u00a0 Following this stint in the architecture office, I began work in the museum field, where I remained for many years until establishing my current studio.\u00a0 I am an alumnus of the Museum Studies program at Harvard University, where I concentrated on museum management and administration.\u00a0 Most recently, I completed an MA in art history at Hunter College in New York City, having prepared my thesis on the little-known, but notable collection of artwork owned by the City of New Bedford\u2019s Free Public Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also find my artworks on Saatchi Online<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Have questions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Email us at info@johnhpageartworks.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n