About John
JOHN WHYTOCK, ARCALM
bio
John Whytock has been a professional artist since 1979. His award-winning fine art has shown in galleries from New York City to San Francisco, and is collected throughout the world. He is also a renowned muralist, and has painted murals for museums, hotels, casinos, and private parties.
John was born in Glendale, California in 1950. He will tell you he is really just a guitar player, having been a professional musician throughout high school and as a young adult. As touring does not work well for family life, his father-in-law got him a job as a carpenter’s apprentice. It was not until after spending 6 years in that profession and achieving journeyman status that he realized construction was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He had a talent for drawing but could not afford a formal education with a young family. With the idea that illustration would allow him to learn his craft and make a living at the same time, he began working toward his goal. Every evening after work in between caring for his young children, he would draw for hours working to improve his skills. The portfolio he developed in those evening hours eventually led to employment as an artist and, in 1979, the beginning of his seven year apprenticeship - two years as an in-house illustrator, and five years in a mural studio, becoming principal artist in both establishments. In 1986 he ventured out on his own upon winning a mural competition for Mission San Juan Capistrano. He spent many years painting murals and fine art before receiving several long-term mural and diorama commissions for the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum and The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, both located in Springfield, Missouri, and the last of which was completed at the end of 2017.
Since the beginning of 2018 he has returned his focus to fine art, winning numerous awards from various organizations. He was honored to have three of his works chosen as finalists in the prestigious 15th International ARC Salon. His work has been published in Plein Air Magazine, and he was a contributing author for their online publication, Outdoor Painter. John is a member of numerous local and national professional organizations.
A native of Newport Beach, California, he is now resides in Springfield, Missouri where he lives with his wife, Deborah. Together they operate their business, Oak Rose Studio, which offers their artwork, classes and workshops in painting and drawing, and select website services for artists. John also accepts commissions and has extensive experience in portraiture.
Why I paint
I didn’t choose art - art chose me. That sounds like an arrogant thing to say, I know, but I really didn’t have much choice in determining that for which I feel passion. When I was about 4, I remember going nearly catatonic with joy while witnessing the kaleidoscopic riot of shimmering colors reflected off golden Christmas garlands and the splinters of a billion lights dancing off myriad decorative globes of shining glass. Just writing about it brings it all back to my senses and puts me in some kind of otherworldly, visual paradise. As lethal as they were, I could stare for hours at the outrageous beauty of the green, red and silver brushed aluminum drinking containers we used as kids. I was 5 when, on a bright, summer morning as the sun poured through the kitchen window and spilled onto the table, I produced my first painting: a watercolor butterfly. It was pure magic.
Is there such a thing as the artistic nature? I really don’t know. What I do remember is being left out of so many things because I didn’t share the same interests as the other kids in my various schools. Because I could stare for hours at an ocean or a desert or a flower or marvel at the intricacies of a seashell or a feather, my classmates and teachers thought I was mentally slow. In my 20’s, as a carpenter building huge commercial buildings in Southern California, my crewmembers laughed at me when I would comment on a sunset or the translucence of a cumulous cloud. They thought I was weird - I thought I was weird.
It finally dawned on me that, oh, I guess I’m an artist. It was some comfort because it helped explain the differences and why I often felt ostracized. I didn’t think I was all that unique. I figured everyone had the same kind of eyes and the same views I had. Maybe they seemed not to appreciate the variety and beauty of nature because they had more important things to contemplate. I didn’t know then and I don’t know why now most people go thorough their lives without really seeing.
I’m really grateful for my collectors and the few people I know who share my appreciation for beauty. It’s why I paint: to freeze a frame of life and share the glory of creation, the plethora of amazing living inventions, the marvels of our universe and to participate in the celebration of consciousness and existence in all its intricacies and variety.
Current Professional Affiliations
Art Renewal Center - Associate Living Master
Previous Professional Affiliations
Heartland Art Club - Founding Member, Signature member
International Guild of Realism
National Oil and Acrylic Painters' Society - Signature member
Oil Painters of America - Signature member
Portrait Society of America
The American Artists Professional League, Elected Artist Member
The Society of Animal Artists
Representation:
2019-Present Lovetts Gallery - Tulsa, Oklahoma
2019-Present The Galleries at Heartland Art Club - Kirkwood, Missouri
2018-Present Oak Rose Studio - Springfield, Missouri
2018-2020 Fresh Gallery - Springfield, Missouri
2012-2017 J. Whytock Studio and Gallery - Yucca Valley, California
2010-2012 Boileau Studio - Palm Springs, California
2010 29 Palms Art Gallery - 29 Palms, California
2004-2005 J. Whytock Studio and Gallery - Ashland, Oregon
1994 Bowles/Sorokko Gallery - San Francisco and Beverly Hills, California
Select list of clients and collectors:
Embassy Suites Hotels Int’l
Hilton Hotels Int’l
Sheraton Hotels Int’l
Sheridan Sunrise Hotels
Sterling Suites Hotel
Guess? Jeans, California
Hart-Hanks Communications, Inc.
Coto de Casa community center, California
Seventh Day Adventist, Washington D.C.
The Black Orchid Restaurant, Hawaii
The Downtown Grille, Arizona
Rick’s Café, Arizona
Calendar’s Restaurant, California
Bobby Mcgee’s, California
Grape Leaves Restaurant, California
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, Nevada
Excalibur Hotel and Casino, Nevada
Luxor Hotel and Casino, Nevada
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Nevada
Aladdin Resort and Casino, Nevada
Venetian Resort and Casino, Nevada
Motor City Resort and Casino, Michigan
Grand Victorian Hotel and Casino, Illinois
Harrah’s Hotels and Casinos, Nevada, Missouri
Dr. and Mrs. Mark Anton
Dr. Gene Scott
Ms. Cheryl Ladd
Mr. and Mrs. Al Brand, C.E.O. Litton Corp.
Bass Pro Shops
Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium
NRA National Sporting Arms Museum
