The Portrait Society of America awarded John the "Certificate of Excellence" at the 10th Annual Art of the Portrait Conference for his portrait, "Mackenzie". The event was held in Philadelphia in April, 2008. February, 2008 finds John teaching a still life workshop at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, Maryland. This summer (July 2008) he will return to California to teach a week-long workshop at L'Atalier Aux Couleurs. In the Fall of 2007 John won the 2nd Place ribbon in the 6th annual Paint Annapolis event for his painting, Charles Street Light. In September, 2004 John was awarded the Jack Richeson Gold Brush Award for Best Figure Painting in the annual Paint Annapolis plein air event. The juror was Stephen Doherty, Editor-in-Chief of American Artist Magazine. The February, 2005 issue of American Artist Magazine features an article and interview with John on the process of painting outdoor figures. Uniting the lyrical beauty of Impressionism with the strength of classical realism, John's paintings are a testament to the power of tradition in the visual arts. After graduating from the Maryland Institute, College of Art in 1977, John began an intense period of study under Cedric Egeli, devoting his time to portrait and figure painting. It was Egeli who introduced John to Henry Hensche, the master impressionist who had served as Charles Hawthorne's teaching assistant during the 1920's in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Struck by the intensity of light Hensche was able to achieve in his canvases, John became a devoted student and spent every summer studying with him until his death in 1992. John is a founder of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association, co-founded with 5 regional painters including Ross Merrill, Chief of Conservation at the National Gallery of Art. In March, 2004 the group was invited to exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. The exhibit was ancillary to “Earth, River and Light”, a show comprised of historic Pennsylvania Impressionist paintings from the James Michner Art Museum. John was the featured lecturer at the exhibit, and was invited to the Museum for a week-long residency. In the winter of 2003, Maryland Public Television produced a documentary on John for their program, Outdoors Maryland. The segment, “Shades of Winter” was awarded a 2002 Capital area Regional Emmy As a featured writer in the November, 1997 issue of The Artist's Magazine, John wrote and illustrated the article, Paint Impressionist Portraits. Ten of his paintings are included in North Light Books' Capturing Radiant Color in Oils by Susan Sarback. John is an instructor at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, Maryland where he teaches drawing and painting. He is an Artist Member of the Maryland Society of Portrait Painters and an award winning, charter member of the American Impressionist Society. In August 2000 John received the inaugural "Annie Award" for visual arts from the Cultural Arts Foundation of Anne Arundel County. His work hangs in many collections including the United States Naval Academy, Lockheed-Martin, the First Bank of Alabama, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Maryland.

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