John Thomas taught high school art in Walkerton for 43 years. His art department at John Glenn High School won 25 achievement awards from the Scholastic Art Awards in New York. Many of his students have gone on to become professional artists.
We are very pleased to have John as a new member of Heartland Artists, and especially excited to have him as our Featured Artist of the Month in January. Although John directs this exhibit of classic motorcycles, guns and guitars to a male audience, everyone will find his attention to detail amazing and will marvel at the way he handles reflections and color. John offered a class in Beginning Portrait Drawing last month which was very well attended, and he plans to offer other classes in the coming year. It was gratifying to see how many of his former students took the class saying they wanted to brush up on the skills he taught them some years ago.
He has recently retired from JGHS but continues to paint using a variety of media – oils, watercolor and acrylic. His favorite subjects are figures and portraits. Inspired by the smooth look of the airbrush, he mastered the tool and is known for his large airbrushed paintings on canvas. The photo-realistic images have won him many awards throughout the years. Included in this list are the Blueberry Festival, Indiana State Fair, Starke County Fine Arts commission, South Bend Michiana Regional Competition, Mid States Show in Evansville and Heartland Artists Regional Show. His art work is in the permanent collections of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Evansville Museum Art and Science, and Bristol Meyer Squibb Corporation.
His show runs the month of January.
Heartland Artists Gallery is a 501(c)3 nonprofit visual arts organization and we are all volunteers. We rely on grants, donations, membership, art sales, classes, fundraisers and volunteer time to sustain our organization. Our mission is to welcome artists and those interested in the arts, to promote multi-media visual art forms, to encourage mutual support of local artists, to share art exhibits, classes, programs and education and to build an artistic link with the community. Some of the programs that support our goal and mission are: Community Partnerships, Art in the Street Festival, Artist and Patron Memberships, Local Scholarships, Nine Featured Artists Exhibits, A Student Art Month, Public Art Projects and two Annual Fundraisers.
If you are interested in joining Heartland, contact Jon Miller, Membership Director 574.341.4044. The Gallery is located at 101 N. Michigan St. in downtown Plymouth. For more information visit heartlandartgallery.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Gallery hours Tues. – Sat. 10-4.
