We recently connected with John Bowen and have shared our conversation below.

John, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

I acquired several watercolor painters as heroes shortly after starting my journey as a watercolorist myself. John Pike, Ted Katusky and Ludlow Thurston (my high school art teacher) really inspired me with their talent and knowledge of the watercolor field! They opened the door for me and their work encouraged me to keep at it every day! My high school teacher introduced me to watercolor and even after graduation invited me to paint with him up until I went into the service.. 8 years as illustrator for Air Force honing my drawing and painting skills! In 1970 l worked in newspaper advertising art as a commercial artist illustrator for the next 40 years. During that time I also did outdoor art shows displaying my watercolor paintings around the country. Another man who inspired me during that time was Gus Wander. I took several workshops with him. He was hard on me but fair and I learned a lot from him.Actually there were other through the years who kept me motivated and I truly appreciated them. I would like to think that I inspired other artists over the years.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I went to work in an advertising agency right out of high school. As an apprentice artist. I did that for two years, learned my trade, before enlisting in the military. I became an illustrator in the Air Force for eight years, including one year in Vietnam, graphically documenting the Airlift Operations in country. Much of my work from Vietnam went to the Air Force Academy, in Colorado. Years later I wrote an illustrated, award winning book about my experiences in Vietnam. I self published the book in 2013. I was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for my work in Vietnam and l’m very proud of that. I’m a traditional watercolor painter and proud of that too. I love doing watercolor paintings and it’s still just as exciting to me as it was when I did my first watercolor!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Being in Vietnam during 1968, away from my wife and kids was hard and being in the middle of a war wasn’t easy. My art assignments actually kept me focused. Believe it or not, I felt like I had a purpose there. Concentrating on my art helped get me through the bad times and my art continued to keep me focused after I came home.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started on Facebook by building a couple of business pages and loading them with images of my watercolors. Next I started posting outdoor art shows l was going to be in, coming up. Also I would post upcoming indoor events, solo exhibits and then l started posting new works l was painting. One time as I was working on this particular piece I posted it, unfinished, and asked my friends to give it a name. I got close to 100 replies! I picked 10 names, posted them and asked for which name they liked the best, winner getting a free print of their choice. It was a big success!!!!

Contact Info:

• Website: johnbowenwatercolorist.com

Image Credits
John Bowen applicable