Featured Artist: JOHN BROPHY

John Brophy was born in St. Louis, MO, but didn't spend much time there. His father was an aerospace engineer for McDonnell Douglas (which is now known as Boeing.) The family moved a lot and by the time he was 12, he had already lived in St. Louis, MO, Tustin, CA, Boise, ID, and South Carolina, as well as Japan and Athens, Greece. As a young adult, he later lived with his family in several different places within the state of California.

John Brophy first started painting just after he finished high school. He had been a yearbook photographer and had enjoyed taking photos, but felt a need for something more and thus, picked up oil painting.

When his dad was transferred to Zaragoza, Spain, he took the opportunity to go to a university in Madrid. That's where he studied fine art, taking full advantage of the Prado Museum and the wonderful courses that he could absorb.

Soon after, he left home, he moved back to Japan for about 8 years. He ultimately decided to nest in Issaquah, WA. Though he has endured much travel, John Brophy is thankful for the experiences he gained.

With a very well-marked passport, he feels that he cannot quite say where his inspiration comes from and that it springs from many places and experiences. Some artists have a hard time with coming up with ideas, but John Brophy is happy to say he is not one of them.

When John Brophy was new to painting he idolized Salvador Dali and found that he could think up all kinds of Daliesque compositions. However, it was something that bothered him because even though the ideas were good, they were in someone else's style.

It took him a while to realize why he was rendering his work in someone else’s style, and ultimately he realized that it was because successful artists have done the hard work of developing their own styles and visual vocabulary.

The styles of the most successful artists were contagious to the point where that particular artist could engulf themselves in anyone’s style of painting. As he stated “It is easy to move into a beautiful house that has been built by someone else.” Taking this into consideration, John Brophy, found it necessary to stop looking at works of other great artists and build up his own inventory of visual iconography.

John Brophy’s biggest influences are Salvador Dali, Mark Kostabi, Pierre et Gilles, Tadanori Yokoo, the music and writing of Brian Eno, Haruki Murajami, and one of his first art teachers: John Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald’s temperament and gentle insight helped tune John Brophy’s eye and sharpen his creative instincts.

If you’re interested in following John Brophy and his enigmatic artwork Please contact: john@jbrophy.com Facebook John Brophy’s Personal website: www.jbrophy.com

If you’re interested in following John Brophy and his enigmatic artwork Please contact: john@jbrophy.com Facebook John Brophy’s Personal website: www.jbrophy.com

Featured Artist: JOHN DICANDIA JINNDOW

John Dicandia  also known in the art world as “Jinndow” was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and of Italian heritage. John Dicandia-Jinndow has been creative for most of my life but has been seriously active in artwork only in the last 25 years. 

He works primarily with ink, graphite and acrylic to convey thoughts about his environment and the human state, both solipsistic and interpersonal, fusing myth and reality.  A blend of mediums and ideas that make his work both beautiful and captivating.

John Dicandia-Jinndow is both a creative enigma in artwork and a delightful writer and illustrator. His work has been published and also has been elected to compliment book covers. John’s curiosity for the human heart is what keeps his work so full of life, with colors and concepts that are naughty and nice, keeping the viewer in suspense and thrilling them with great expectations.

 Although John Dicandia-Jinndow has travelled extensively he resides and creates in his home town in Melbourne, Australia. His artistic creativity surfaced at a very young age. When John was 11 years old he began to take an interest in writing. It is hard to pinpoint one source of inspiration. Perhaps it’s from his diverse environment and the people that he has met along the journey of his life. It was then at that very young age that he started writing stories about having really cool friends and going on adventures.  

His biggest influence have been numerous, for he has had the fortune to get inspiration from his environment and his peers.  John can’t single out one major source of influence or art movement however he does have an affinity to the period from 1890-1940 covering the Belle Epoche, Dadaism, Art Nouvelle and Art Deco. 

John Dicandia-Jinndow likes to consider his art style to be -Art deco with gothic and pop art elements” or as he likes to say- “in a nutshell”. He Describes himself as “A puzzle with missing pieces!” His work is as he states “Organized chaos!”

If you wish to explore more about this artist please visit:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/dicandiaj

For personal inquiries please contact:

dicandio@gmail.com

www.jinndow.com.au