About John Courtney
Nothing happens in a vacuum.
I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to make art. Although I did (lol), The idea was always there, It just took me some time to get here.
Like everyone, I am the culmination of my lived experience. All of the things I have done, have led me to a time and place where making my art is not only a privilege, it is a necessity.
Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, I was always into music and fashion. To me, they went hand in hand. Both played a huge role in my creative development, and have had a definite impact on my art.
Throughout school, I took every art class I could. Not because I was a great artist, but because I was a bad student. A creative kid who just loved getting his hands dirty and creating something.
After high school, there were not many opportunities for a creative kid with no real direction, or specific technical discipline.
So I took a shot and applied to the Visual Merchandising Arts program at Sheridan College, and to my surprise, was accepted. I had no idea what I was about to undertake, I just knew it was creative and hands on. That was enough for me.
The 2 years spent in that program allowed me to focus my creativity on a skill I didn't know I had, in an industry I didn't know existed. The art of display. I had found a way to channel my energy into something I excelled at. It gave me the confidence to pursue a career on the creative side of retail, and laid the foundations of a career spanning over 20 years.
After college, I was blessed to land a job through a college classmate and friend, at Ralph Lauren Canada doing window display. I was the jr display artist and was prepared to do whatever they threw at me. It was a very creative environment and an incredible first work experience. I worked hard, learned everything I could, and loved every minute of it.
After a few years, it was time to spread my creative wings. I was lucky enough to be hired by Club Monaco in the visual department. I didn't realize it then, but I was about to work with, and for some of the most creative and influential people I had ever been around. They elevated my love of art and design. They encouraged and guided me as I developed my own visual sensibilities.It was an amazing time with a lot of amazing people. I was a sponge submerged in a creative pool. Learning and doing things that helped me expand my creativity and hone my visual skills. This is where I developed my passion for the creative process. I must have loved my time there, because it lasted 12 years. During that time I had many positions and roles. All in the visual dept, each one pivotal in contributing to my creative tool box.
Unfortunately but true, all good things come to an end. Over that time, the creative environment changed. It had become very corporate, and had lost its shine. My time with Club Monaco had come to an end.
Needing to fill the creative void, I began to make art. No intentions other than a creative outlet and a release. It quickly became more than an outlet and I realized I had tapped into something I needed. But I wasn't really sure what to do with it.
Answering the call of a recruiter, I was hired as the Visual Director of West 49, responsible for some of the biggest visual projects I had ever undertaken. I put all my experience and creativity to work, met some incredible people and added a few new tools to the box. I was ready for more and on a creative high. Unfortunately, I had developed a bad taste for the corporate world and thought I was ready to strike out on my own. As my skills grew, so did my ego, and one hell of a drinking problem. I quit West 49.
Fast forward 10 months, I opened Editor.
Editor was the name of the men's clothing store I opened. The idea had been in the back of my mind for a while. It was a complete creative outlet for me. An opportunity to creatively do whatever I wanted. So I did. It was an incredible feeling. Fleeting, but incredible.
At some point, the realities of being a business owner kicked in, and I was not as prepared as I had convinced myself I was. Sure I had all the creative skills and tricks. I may have crafted a pretty cool store environment. I may have been as creative as I wanted to be. But the truth of the matter was, I was not financially prepared. I was in over my head, struggling, and by now a highly functioning, full blown alcoholic.
Editor closed after almost 2 years.
After wallowing in self pity for a while, I went back to what I knew best. Back to corporate retail. Back to what I had removed myself from. I had lost my passion and my creative drive. But with bills to pay and a family, I went after any visual position I could find. Those positions were getting harder to find, and challenging economic times shrank or eliminated creative and visual departments. The years to follow become a bit of a corporate retail, alcohol fueled blur. I went from the visual dept at LaSenza, to Victoria's Secret, to Mexx, and finally Hudson's Bay. I was not engaged with my work, not doing anything creative, and unhappy. it had become glaringly obvious to me. My visual career as i knew it was over.
The next 10 years of my life were destructive. To pay bills I learned to cut hair as a barber. I was barely holding it together, and struggling to function. I had divorced myself from all things creative and become unbearable in the process.It was a challenging period of my life, but it was the people I worked with that helped me keep it together, and eventually pushed me into sobriety.
Once sober, stripped of my ego and able to see things clearly for the first time in a very long time, I knew I had to get back into my art. With the same excitement and the same intentions as I started with 25 years earlier, I began again. Just for me.
Those same feelings of clarity, contentment and joy came back. My lost creativity was returning. I needed to hang onto this feeling, and the best way to do so was committing my time and energy to my art full time.
With overwhelming support from my family and a few close friends, I finally made the decision. Lean into what you know, don't worry about what you don't. Tap into your years of experience and do exactly what you are supposed to. Get your hands dirty and create.
Please allow me to share the culmination of my lived experiences.
THE ART
If asked to give a simple definition of my art, I would call it Abstract Mixed Media. But I have a hard time putting a label on it. The term abstract mixed media is an easy, yet vague way to describe this exciting and vibrant style, without listing the numerous materials and mediums used.
My art has its own style, which I describe as authentic, bold and energetic.
The finished work is definitely abstract, but the subject matter is derived from real life.
Having said that, I have no desire to recreate what I see. My art comes from a place filled with the need to create. I reinterpret my influences and experiences into abstract images. Architecture, technology, pop culture, music, art, politics, fashion and the challenges or triumphs I have experienced, all play a part in what I create. There is no end result in mind when I start a new piece. The idea almost always starts with color and it evolves from there. Creating depth through the use paper collage, layers of paint and overlapping mediums, the art emerges
I like to create primarily on oversized canvas. A combination of acrylic paint, spray paint, oil pastel, pages torn from magazines and books, hand cut stencils, news paper, masking tape, pencil and marker.
If I can paint with it, spray through it, tear it up or and paint over it, I use it.
THE INSPIRATION
My art is influenced by the things I both love and loath.
Pop culture, technology, architecture, color, music, fashion, addiction, politics, the past, and the present are all integral parts of my art .
My inspiration comes from doing. From putting paint on canvas or ripping paper. From making a beautiful mess. From letting your creativity take over and becoming lost in your art .
Simply put…I don’t get inspired to do the work.
I do the work to get inspired.
