“People came to admire and they forgot themselves” Woodcut 12″ x 17″ 2014 edition of 50 prints.
“Stairanof” sketch for future woodcut
JP. Poster Titles
Twin Lakes (oil)
St. Leo Abbey # 1 (oil)
Juneau Graveyard (oil)
Raven (water color)
St. Leo Abbey #2(oil)
St. Leo Abbey #3(oil)
Gift Shop, St. Leo (charcoal)
Alpha & Omega (water color)
Lake Jovita sunrise (oil)
Woman (oil)
Young Ukrainian #1 (water color)
Young Ukrainian #2 (water color)
St. Leo Abbey #4 (oil)
Paul, studying (charcoal)
Juneau, water front (pen & ink)
Bouquet w/eyes (oil)
Boat Captain (pen & ink)
Jesse (oil)
Tree (pen & ink)
Still Life /Fruit (oil)
Mendenhall Glacier # 1 (oil)
Forest (oil)
Graveyard # 1(oil)
St. Leo Abbey #5 (oil)
Mendenhall Glacier #2 (oil)
photo 15
alaskaframes 
All art work on Alaska frames will be eventually offered for sale as woodcuts, posters of various sizes on light foam board, post cards, & note cards.
Two Mendenhall glacier oil paintings show how the ice has receded.
Of the total of St. Leo Abbey oil paintings, there are at least five more of this series out in circulation. The earlier paintings were more realistic as to color and proportion of the real Abbey but, as the artist began to trip out on colors and shapes and forms, a whole new vision of the Abbey emerges. However, they all have the artist’s touch of a warm feeling for his subject. I much prefer the more avant garde versions of the Abbey to the earlier ones.
The two water color enlargements of the young Ukrainian man are especially wonderful in that John used a soft shade of pink, usually used for babies, to indicate the extreme youth and innocence of the model. The close up of his face again shows the charming aspect of the youth.
Lake Jovita sunrise has its twin, the Lake Jovita sunset, almost identical but the colors are muted, which we no longer have. This, again, is a long range view of the Abbey and what strikes me is the extreme tenderness, even in the multicolored wild grasses with which the artist somehow is able to convey through his art.
Twin Lakes oil is a scene from Juneau that anyone who lives there might recognize. This was in a late winter snow flurry. Pictured are the three mountains which we used to call ‘Three Sisters’ and the Eagan freeway that sits between Twin Lakes and the fjord, with the cars looking like blurs on the highway. It leans a little towards the impressionistic side but that’s exactly the way the sky looks when there is a mixture of snow/rain.
John tends to make his art from real life or photos, occasionally he will image something in his mind and then put this image to paper like the charcoal of the ‘Stairanof’ above. He drew this from memory but it is very like the real thing.
What happens from the visual to the finished work as its filtered through the artists sensibility is just wonderful. Even the obviously quick charcoal sketch of ‘Paul, studying’ has completely captured the feeling of who Paul actually is, right down to turning his toes up as he reads. You get the impression of a young man, earnest and studious, yet humble of heart. How an artist can convey such things with a few lines on paper is way beyond me.
Raven watercolor and Omega watercolor are the same artists model. His whole personality seems to shine through these sketches. Not timid, an in your face person, proud of who he is but not arrogant about it. The oil portrait of the Woman shows a very intelligent, calm person, with such beautiful eyes.
His art that is not portraits is still chock full of feelings although how this could possibly be is quite mystifying. Even the Still Life/fruit oil has a feeling to it that is different from if you would simply take a photograph of it. The Juneau Graveyard just shimmers in its intensity. I can recognize it, having been there but the artists interpretation is just awesome.
John’s large oil landscape at bottom is the very same view as Jesses Ernest Croft Road #2. You can see the stark differences between the styles of the two artists. Jesses landscape was done in high summer, so the white road appears yellow from the intensity of the sun and all the grasses are green. John ‘s landscape is done more towards the fall, when browns predominate. Johns interpretation of the scene is far more impressionistic than Jesse’s interpretation of the same scene.
The pen and ink drawing of a candle was taken from an actual candle. The artists interpretation of this very common household object somehow softens it and makes it seem dream like. It’s like we are seeing through the artists eyes. I feel there is something tender hearted about this lowly little candle. I’ve seen the real candle stick. It is Irish cut glass.
John’s candle contrasts rather interestingly with Jesse’s candle, which came wholly out of his imagination and seems bursting with life and enthusiasm. Jesse was about 13 when this candle was created, worthy of any of Disneys animated films. John was also in his teens when his candle was created.
So far, there are only two of John’s original wood cuts available. They will be offered as prints and posters too but I would encourage the avid art lover to choose the wood cut version as they are a real beautiful art form. Wood cuts are traditionally made on a white rice paper which resembles a type of homemade paper that has a lot of character to it. This paper is usually only available in speciality art stores. It’s quite a process to get more than one color on a wood cut.