We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Albert John Belmont. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Albert John below.

Albert John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Considering a project as a body of work – something beyond an individual piece – the most meaningful and challenging pieces have been those that have sprung from a series of autobiographical drawings I created between 2023 and 2025. I jumped into these quickly and with the only goal of capturing my story through key frames of life. If we’re going to really analyze why they feel meaningful I guess the real answer is that the idea was just for me. I wasn’t doing what I thought I should do; I was doing what I wanted to do. And I suppose I’m approaching being real about my experiences more so than I have in the past. They are pieces that aren’t meant to sell pictures or please someone else’s narrative. I say that recognizing that I’m not fully there, but it’s approaching that pure look at myself, which makes it a challenge and therapeutic.

Albert John, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been making art for as long as I remember and I’ve been painting for 30 years. For much of that time my goal has been to communicate what I feel in a way that is stripped down, so that each color and line, viewpoint, element means something to what I’m trying to get across. I was so bored painting realistically when I was studying art in college that my side quest was to revisit my school work in a purer way and that’s still a large part of the process.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that the collectors who have bought my work seem connected to what they feel the story is – sometimes it’s a general feeling (lonely, calm, quiet) and other times they ask me what the story is. I love providing extra details for the new owner of a painting that others don’t have, like a hidden bonus track to accompany the song. If you have one of my pieces you have a piece of my life. It is an incredible feeling to pull the memories out and set them free into the world.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Art is everywhere. We consume and interact with creativity constantly. Understanding and respecting the role that expression plays in our lives is an important part of understanding each other. There is something about taking in the experiences and viewpoints of others that enriches our lives and prevents us from festering in our own thoughts or our own prejudices.

To support an artist is to understand the worth of their work in rounding out our culture. Support can of course mean buying artwork, but it also means to ask about art, learn, share, and value art as a meaningful part of our lives. Lastly, whether or not you yourself “make art”, there is tremendous value in being observant, questioning things, and trying a different way than what you see everyone else doing. I’m still working on being braver and questioning more.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I don’t see the appeal of NFTs, but my work is about infusing myself into an object and leaving it out in the world like an artifact. It’s not a fit for what I see happening with NFTs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://abelmont.com
• Instagram: @belmont_aj
• Other: Bluesky: abelmont.bsky.social

Image Credits

Photo credit: Courtney Seymour