John Blanchard

I am a painter who concentrates on two dissimilar media, oil paint and watercolor. Oil has been my primary focus since receiving my first oil paint set when I was twelve years old. I have been influenced by the old masters, western cowboy legends and contemporary figurative painters for many years. The intent of my oil work is my interpretations of modern life in a figurative motif based on a historical/social commentary framework. I am comfortable using oil paint on stretched linen or canvas in a wide range of sizes. Watercolor is my newest mistress even though I have been painting in that medium for many years now. Watercolor is of the moment. Watercolor is the strictest and most unforgiving of mediums. When it works it is fresh and luminous. And when it is overworked it is muddy and dull. Oil can be over-painted continually. With watercolor I have one shot to impress the paper which to me is a spiritual bride to the marriage of paint to its surface. Because of the legendary nature of the New Mexico landscape with its clouds and clarity of light, watercolor is the perfect medium to use to capture that beauty.