• Home
  • Portfolio
  • Artist Statement
  • Contact
  • More
    • Home
    • Portfolio
    • Artist Statement
    • Contact
  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • Artist Statement
  • Contact

John D. Wooldridge Fine Art

John D. Wooldridge Fine ArtJohn D. Wooldridge Fine ArtJohn D. Wooldridge Fine Art

Colorado Based Landscape Painter

Colorado Based Landscape PainterColorado Based Landscape Painter

Artist Statement

I only do what the wind tells me.


I am a landscape painter working in oil. I work both en plein air and in the studio from observational sketches, color studies, and photos. Though I love working from life, my best work comes from the intimacy of the studio. For years, I searched for the line between abstraction and objectivity, hoping to retain the sense of space and illusion of form. It wasn’t until I returned some years old practices that I realized the key lay in abandoning the higher self and letting instinct drive the process.


I attempt to incorporate thick/thin textural dynamics and directional brushwork to drive composition beyond typical placement of value/color passages.

Bio

I was raised on a cattle farm in the Ozark mountains, many miles from any reasonably sized town. You might say it felt a lot like Tatooine to Luke Skywalker: if there was a bright center to the universe, I was in the place it was furthest from. But the universe seems to have a way of providing exactly what a person needs, whether they realize it or not. I devoured books (sci fi and fantasy mostly), drew (dinosaurs often), roamed the woods and fields, and got lost in an old set of black and white World Book Encyclopedias whose only color plates were found under the headings Art and Painting. Even places far from the bright center are filled with light if one only one look and I found light in those color plates. At the time, I particularly loved the Pre-Raphaelites.


As a teen, I studied painting in a tiny atelier in that nearest sizable town. Aside from an odd workshop here and there, this is still my only formal art education. College led me down a different path: engineering. After receiving a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arkansas, I moved my young family to the suburbs of Washington D.C.to pursue a career with NASA.  I have designed, built, and operated systems in orbit around Earth and on the surface of Mars.


In 2004, I rekindled my love for painting and in 2007 returned to my native Arkansas. Surrounded by the familiar and much-loved landscapes of my youth, my painting exploded in both quantity and quality. After a personal tragedy in 2014, I decided for a new start and let the wind carry me west to Colorado. You can now find me on a small farm near Beulah, Colorado that is strangely reminiscent of the farm of my youth. I spend my days still designing things for spaceflight but my nights and weekends are full of painting and writing. You may find my work at Cantrell Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas  

Shows and Exhibitions

 2023

· New Horizons Landscape Show

3 Square Art, Fort Collins, CO

2022

· Abstract or Whatever Show

December, Mineral Palace Gallery, Pueblo, CO(Best in Show – Pro, 1st Place Pro Painting)

· Colorado Show

July, Mineral Palace Gallery, Pueblo, CO (Best in Show)

· Winter Show

February, Mineral Palace Gallery, Pueblo, CO (First Place and Juror’s Choice)

2021

· Done Got Lost, Solo Show

July-August, Cantrell Gallery, Little Rock, AR

2020

· Mountains, Peaks and Waterfalls

September, R Gallery, Boulder, CO

2019

· Bibelot Show

December, Kanon Collective, Denver, CO

· Winter’s Beauty

December, R Gallery, Boulder, CO

· The 144 Colorado Showcase

November and December, PACE Center, Parker, CO

2017

· SAAC Juried Art Competition

July, South Arkansas Arts Center, El Dorado, AR

· Art at the Center Juried Show

May-June, Tomahawk Ridge Community Center, Overland Park, Kansas 

· During Wind and Rain

Poster art for musical performance

2016

· Richeson Small Works, Meritorious Entries (2)

2015

· Arkansas League of Artists Annual Juried Show

September-October, Cantrell Gallery, Little Rock, AR

· The Quiet Hours, Solo Show

May-June, Cantrell Gallery, Little Rock

· ArkansasLeague or Artists Members Show

May, Argenta Art Gallery, North Little Rock

· Plein Air Painters Show

April-June, Christ Episcopal Church, Little Rock

2014

· Painting Arkansas-Finale, Solo Show

May-June, Cantrell Gallery, Little Rock

· White River Plein Air

May, Cotter, AR (First Timers Award)

2013

· Diamond National Show

December-January, Hot  Springs Fine Arts Center, Hot Springs, AR

· ArkansasLeague of Artists Winners Show

December, Patrick Hays Center, North Little Rock, AR

· Bike Art Show

December-February, The Dairy Centerfor the Arts, Boulder, CO

· ArkansasLeague of Artists Annual Juried Show (3rd Place, Animals/Wildlife)

September-October, Cantrell Gallery, Little Rock, AR

· 65th River ValleyInvitational

July, Fort   Smith Regional Art Museum

Jurors: Tammy Harrington, Ann Prentice Wagner, Manuela Well-Off-Man

· Painting Arkansas, Solo Show

July-August, Cantrell Gallery, Little Rock, AR

· ArkansasLeague Of Artists Signature Members Show

July-August, Cox Creative Center, Little Rock, AR

· Hot Springs Fine Arts Center Spring Regional (Honorable Mention)

March, Hot Springs Fine Arts Center, Hot Springs, AR

2012

· Realism Without Borders, Group Show

December, LEE Gallery, Boise, ID

· Painting Arkansas, Solo Show

October, Van Buren Center for Art and Education

· ArkansasLeague of Artists Juried Exhibition

October, Butler Center, Little Rock, AR (First Place, Landscape)

· ArkansasLeague of Artists Spring Members Show

May, Terry House, Little Rock, AR (Third Place, Landscape)

  • Hot Springs Fine Arts Center Regional

March, Hot   Springs Fine Arts Center

2011

· ArkansasLeague of Artists Winners Show

December, THEA Foundation, North Little Rock, AR

· Diamond National Exhibition (Ralph Michaelis Memorial Award)

September, Hot Springs Fine Arts Center

· ArkansasLeague of Artists Annual Juried Show

September and October, Cantrell Gallery, Little Rock

· Harrison Art League Spring Show (3rd Place Oil)

May, Oak Leaf Gallery

· ArkansasLeague of Artists Members Show

May, Terry House, Little Rock, Arkansas

· Regional Show (Merit Award)

April, Hot Springs Fine Arts Center

2010:

· Village at Hendrix Designer House

September-October

· Diamond National Exhibition

August, Hot Springs Fine Arts Center

· Harrison Art League Spring Show (Honorable Mention)

May, Oak Leaf Gallery

2009

·  “Starry Night”

October, Hot Springs Fine Arts Center

· “Celebration of the Tulip”

April, ClayTime Studios, North Little Rock

· “Featured Artist”

April & May, Arkansas State Treasurer’s Office


Copyright © 2023 John D. Wooldridge Fine Art - All Rights Reserved.

Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder