Plein Air painter John Cosby began his art career at sea. Like so many people in their 20’s he had the urge to travel and see what else is out there. Other sailors noticed him drawing, John needed to eat, so he sold his drawings or bartered for gear.
In this episode, John describes how what started as a necessity morphed into a 35 year adventure in painting.
When John began to focus exclusively on his art, there was not much going on in the Newport Beach area of California (at least in terms of representational art) so he started his own gallery. Just a little farther down the coast of California though, in Laguna Beach, there was a mecca of artists. John gives us the back story on how that came to be and how he and a group of friends formed their own community of plein air painters with the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association.
John has been working on a project called Rust and Roadsides with Joe Paquet. They are painting what is known as the ‘Rust Belt’ – after many factories and manufacturing shut down across the United States, towns and entire cites were abandoned and left blighted. John tells some colorful stories about staying safe while plein air painting.
And of course, as you probably expect by now, we talk about the issues artists wrestle with almost daily: Managing your painting practice, staying authentic despite real or perceived expectations from others, and when to share your work, and the pressures of social media.
Links
OTHER ARTISTS and ORGANIZATIONS MENTIONED:
- Ken Auster
- Salm Caglayan
- Cynthia Brittain
- Laguna Plein Air Painters
- Pageant of the Masters
- Joe Paquet
- Dan Guze
- Clyde Aspevig
John’s Paintings
