As a wildlife painter, John has always had the intent of using his own photos as reference material. In the beginning, that just meant a photo with an animal in the frame, in focus or not. In time, his fondness for photography grew from passion to profession. This has led to photographic excursions in Yellowstone, Alaska, Africa and French Polynesia searching for bears, wolves, elephants, lions, whales and sharks.
One afternoon, while swimming in from a dive, he snapped a few photos of a breaking wave. The next day, John went back to the ocean in search of waves and another passion was born. Having grown up in and around the ocean along the California coast, the addition of wave and surf photography was an easy one for him.
“Mother Nature makes the art, I try to find it.”, is a quote John uses often. Being a painter and photographer of many subjects means there is always something for him to paint or shoot. Telling stories with his photos and art is important. John wants to open people’s eyes to the beauty of the natural world, and in turn make them want to protect and persevere it.