We were lucky to catch up with John Meister recently and have shared our conversation below.

John, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

When I made the shift to become a full-time oil painter in my forties, I knew only a couple of people pursuing fine art careers. The business of fine art was foreign to me, but I felt that I was pretty good at marketing, and I imagined that I could just promote the heck out of each piece as I painted it. I joined a few local art organizations to build both my support base and exposure to the industry of fine art. My past networking did help to sell a few paintings, but my body of work lacked overall focus and direction. This became more apparent as I later began to pursue gallery representation. I also quickly learned that a career artist must not only sell their work but must learn to sell themself too (branding).

To better learn my studio craft, I began to paint outside directly in front of my subject (termed plein air painting). Painting in plein air regularly with competent artist friends and critiquing each other’s work at the end of each session helped me to discern when my work was headed in a strong or weak direction. The practice of concentrated observation outside also helped me to appreciate dramatic lighting and developed my ability to look for color where I had never really seen it before. Reflected light, unexpected color, and ambient color in shadow became hallmarks in my paintings. Nature was a great “classroom” for me, and my style began to have a cohesive “look”, something that galleries want to see in an artist’s work.

In my studio work, I often try to work in small series, setting goals for each set of paintings. As an oil painter, it also allows me to remain productive during drying stages, etc.

I am fortunate to reside in a very art-supportive state and near the third largest art market in the country (Santa Fe). My work is represented in a gallery there with a fantastic staff, and they continue to give me great feedback about my art and ideas to make it more “collectable”. It has been helpful to me to listen to that advice.

In the process of group painting outside, I meet many painters of all levels. In 2018, I served as president of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, an organization of nearly 400 painters nationally. I now know several hundred painters and enjoy learning, teaching, and sharing with them as often as I can – learning that volunteering within the local art community produces unexpected benefits for an artist. I feel that it significantly strengthens my brand. I occasionally present a “Top 10 List of Marketing Ideas for Fine Artists” to local organizations or painting groups. Volunteering is the number one idea on my list.

John, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up on a creek in Austin, TX and had a very explorative childhood with my neighborhood friends. We were always catching things to stick into an aquarium or examining fossils. By college, I was sure that I was going to be the next Jaques Custeau, and I began as Marine Biology Major at the University of Texas. I quickly changed my major to Geology because of my interest in fossils and prehistoric life. An oil market crash at the end of my third year sent me looking for yet again another area of study. I had always loved art but could only imagine the life of the starving painter as a vocation. A friend’s dad was a U.T. art professor and introduced me to several other art career options. I took a few pre-requisite art classes during summer school, and I was convinced! I graduated with a B.A. in Art, concentrating in Communication Design (graphic design, illustration, advertising).

Armed now with the skills for the trenches of an advertising agency but with a minimal portfolio, I took on a few freelance art clients to rectify this problem. I began to build a small client base and discovered that I enjoyed working directly with the clientele. Thus, I fell into my own sole-practitioner small business. I got married a couple of years later and we moved to Albuquerque, NM for my wife to take a job as an attorney in a great law firm. My parents were both from New Mexico, so we had some good family support there as well.

I spent 23 years self-employed doing graphic design and illustration, including a five-year stint as an artist for a friend’s screen-printing business. Finally, with a very supportive family, I felt that it was time to make another career shift to full-time oil painting. This change instigated a whole new learning process – that of the fine artist.

Upon reflection on being a full-time oil painter for sixteen years now, it is easier to look at my current work to see where it evolved from. New Mexico is a state that some would say has few resources, but what we have here is extraordinarily unique. Our arts highlight this. I am devoted to helping others see and experience the beauty of our state, and hope that my own art efforts support this goal. The term ‘magical realism’ had to be created for New Mexico. Living here, I appreciate the aesthetic of life in all its forms and gravitate toward intimate views of nature and the structure of things. Life must do a little something extra to thrive here, and sometimes it displays great beauty in the process. I strive to capture that.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I am a visual artist, a painter to be specific. Each piece of work that I take the time and effort to create has a purpose. It may be as an experiment to learn, a study to visualize, or a finished painting to sell or gift to someone. I try to have the attitude that each painting that I choose to market to the rest of the world will eventually find its home. There is nothing more enjoyable to me than when I learn that someone has taken the time to look at my work, committed hard earned money to collect it, space on their walls to hang it, and what may be a good part of their life to live with it – making it part of their family. Meeting patrons and others who enjoy my work is such a charge and knowing that my art will live on beyond my lifetime is a nice feeling.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As a child comfortably playing on the banks of a creek in Austin, Texas, my parents uprooted us several times a year to drive across the desert of New Mexico, returning us to their own childhood homes. Threading through mesas, thunderheads, and virga (rain that evaporates before it reaches the ground), I imagine from the vantage point in the back seat of our Ford LTD station wagon that my brother and I resembled young Jim Morrisons traveling across the desert floor, kindling memories that might eventually spark moody rock-n-roll hits. We were truly ‘riders on the storm’, soaking up the visual cues that we experienced.

I always admire what creatives such as writers, musicians, and performers leave behind for future society to enjoy, whether their craft has brought them fame and fortune or not. History shows that these talents can benefit a culture in so many positive ways. As a visual artist, I hope that my own work provides enjoyment for my family, friends, collectors, and admirers – maybe also inspiring someone yet unknown to me to pick up a pen or a brush – anything to help them tell their own story. Learning each other’s stories brings us closer together.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.johnmeisterart.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/johnmeisterart
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnmeisterart

Image Credits
John Meister Paul Galindo