A Painting From My Travels

Key West Busker, 11”x 14”, 2024, watercolor and ink on 96 lb. recycled American made (with French materials) Bristol paper.
When I travel I always take art materials with me. While staying in Key West, I painted this from a photo I took of a street performer at one of the nightly Sunset Celebrations on Mallory Square.
I find that working in watercolor while on a salty piece of land, surrounded by water, is an experience that always invigorates.
This painting is currently available for purchase. Prints of this painting are available in my online stores.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores (for which he would be extremely grateful), go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

Be Good To Those Who Serve You

I’ve always been a believer in the idea that if you take care of your brushes (or tools), they’ll serve you well for years. For example, for decades I’ve been using this dusting brush my mom gave me. As you can see, it was made back when there were two Germanys. The lesson here? Be good to that (or those) which (or who) serve(s) you.
Cheers.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores (for which he would be extremely grateful), go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

Started My Day With A Great Note

The note below is one I received today via my Facebook business page (facebook.com/EssexArt) has made my day (month actually 😁).

“Good afternoon! I just wanted to message and let you know how much fun our visit to The Apple Works was because of you! We had so much fun and having a drawing to remind us how much fun we had means so much. A forever captured moment. Our experience with you was amazing! Such a good sense of humor. I appreciate you talking to my son, and making him feel comfortable. You made an impact on his life, and he is still talking about you. Just completely an amazing experience and I wanted you to know. I also wanted to send you this picture I took. ❤️ how you captured us, so I thought I would do the same. Hope you are having a good day. 😊”

We all work for a lot of different reasons, but feedback like the above is the tasty icing on the cake of our work efforts.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art (including the one in this blog entry) as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

Spontaneous Geometrics

In case anyone is in the Garfield Park area of Indianapolis, I currently have a solo exhibit there.
September 1 (First Friday) it will be open late and I plan to be there. Come on out.
Exhibit title: Spontaneous Geometrics
John Essex II
“For years the majority of my art has been about people and locations. Though I
also, enjoy creating purely abstract work now and again as the muse strikes, and
am currently working on a series of what I call spontaneous geometrics, much of
what I produce is of actual people or actual locations or inspired by one or the
other. I can best give an account of why I am a visual artist by simply stating it is the only life I have ever known.”
AUG 4- SEPT 29
Front Lobby
GPACarts.org

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art (including the one in this blog entry) as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

A Blackbird Calls

A Blackbird Calls, watercolor on watercolor paper, 8”x 10”, 2023.
This painting was inspired by a blackbird that perched on a chair opposite where my wife and I were dining at a table outside of The Whales Rib, a restaurant in Deerfield Beach, Florida. We had just arrived for a stay in Deerfield Beach and thought we’d find a local restaurant to try. We were not disappointed with our choice.
Interestingly enough, the young man who was parking cars in the restaurants small parking lot of highly coveted spaces, was a recent graduate of a high school with which we were familiar. Greenwood High School, Greenwood Indiana was the school and one which two nephews and one niece of ours had graduated. Small world.
Like I mentioned above, while my wife and I were enjoying our time at one of the outdoor tables, this blackbird flew up and perched on a chair opposite us. The bird did not seem the least bit shy as it stood there on that chair holding its one foot up, which I suspected had been injured at one time or another. Anyway, as the blackbird perched on the chair quite comfortably I took several pictures of it before it decided to move on. I thought the way it stood would make an interesting subject matter for a painting and capturing the pose with my camera was not hard to do with a critter that didn’t appear one bit bothered by the fact that it joined us without the courtesy of asking first.
In the painting I depicted the bird on a medievalesque war hammer because I thought it would make a more interesting painting then having it sit on a restaurant chair. 
I started and finished the painting, poolside, at the small place we were staying in Deerfield Beach.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art (including the one in this blog entry) as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

My Artwork… Out Here And There

There are six of my artworks that are currently in various stages of exhibition and in various places.
They are:
’The Conflict I See Daily’, acrylic on canvas, online exhibit titled ‘Pairs’ that just ended recently.

My acrylic and collage on particle board multi media titled, ‘Jack’s Road’, is in a juried exhibit that just opened called, ‘Textured”. The exhibit will be up until till May 27, 2023 at the Garfield Park Arts center, 2432 Conservatory Dr, Indianapolis, IN. My acrylic on canvas painting titled, ‘Memories/Connections’, is also in that juried exhibit, ‘Textured”.

My watercolor and ink on watercolor paper work titled, ‘Beach Bird’, has been delivered and will be exhibited May 12 – June 30 at the SullivanMunce Cultural Center, 225 W Hawthorne St, Zionsville, IN, in a juried show called, ‘Flora And Fauna’.  Also my watercolor and ink on watercolor paper work titled, ‘Rope Bird’, has also been delivered and will be in ‘Flora And Fauna’.

– Scheduled for delivery in a few days is my acrylic on canvas painting titled, ‘Monumental Geometric’. It is one of twelve paintings selected to to be in the 2023 Treasurer’s Statehouse Exhibition in the Indiana Statehouse, 200 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN. This art exhibit will up until September, 22, 2023.

  As one might guess, I’ve been depending on my calendar quite heavily lately to help me keep track of what works I have out and where they are. Honestly… it’s a good position to be in and I’m more than happy to be busy like this.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

Whispers Of The Muse

I’m happy to share here that ‘Beach Bird’ is one of two of my paintings that have been selected for the Flora and Fauna juried exhibit at SullivanMunce Cultural Center in Zionsville, IN. The artist reception will be Friday, May 12. If you are in the area, please stop in.
It’s hard to describe what it is in an artist that internally draws them to present their work to the world. It’s equally difficult to explain the unrelenting internal compulsion artists feel that lead them to create artwork. I’ve often referred to it as a haunting. Something will come to mind as if whispered softly in my ear by an unseen muse, then it stays there unrelentingly wanting out until I exorcise it by transferring it to canvas or paper. That is the only way, for me, to make that blessed haunting leave my head. Of course, next comes the near equally strong desire to place that artwork before the world*. As I seek to find avenues to exhibit the result of the previous haunting… the muse whispers to me again.

* It never occurred to me that an artist does indeed put their work before the world, as it’s being created and as it is exhibited, until and encounter I had years ago. There I was painting en plein air (outdoors and on site) a pedestrian bridge that crosses the canal behind Newfields (The Indianapolis Museum Of Art). As I painted a man came up to me as I worked there on the gravel path by the canal. He stopped and watched for a short while, complimented my painting, then continued on the path. As he left he said to me something I have never forgotten, “Thanks for sharing that with the world.” After pondering that for a while I came to the conclusion he was right. That is exactly what artists do. They share their work, their vision, their soul, their art with the world.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

Gotta Love Being A Bagpiper On St. Patrick’s Day

 March 17, 2019 was the last time I had been out bagpiping on St. Patrick’s Day because I skipped doing so during the “COVID years”. Of course I was nervous because it had been so long and I wondered if in my 3 year hiatus I had gotten a little rusty. Something that helped calm my nerves was the fact I decided to arrange for fewer places to perform because my past marathon-like St. Patrick’s Day bagpiping just didn’t appeal to me anymore. Back in the day I scheduled a place to play my bagpipes virtually every hour of the the day starting at 10 am (or so) till around midnight. In fact I invariably would forget to schedule meal times in my day and would end up going through fast-food drive-thrus and would wolf down my lunch and supper as I drove to my next gig. Hardly an enjoyable dining experience.
  For my 2023 St. Patrick’s Day bagpiping schedule I arranged to play only 5 places, but did add on a couple of extra performances with a stop at homebound friend’s house and one at a senior care facility. Though this still made for a pretty full schedule, my St. Patrick’s Day was a lot less hectic and gave me much more time to get from one gig to the next… which proved to be a lot easier on the nerves.

 One of the best things about being a bagpiper on St. Patrick’s Day is the sincere appreciation of the people for whom one plays. Crowds are so friendly and welcoming I often say “being a bagpiper on St. Patrick’s Day means people treat me like I’m Paul McCartney”. Seriously, everyone I encounter is happy to welcome me into their celebration with handshakes, pats on the back and the continual posing for pictures. I don’t mind telling you… I love every bit of it and am already looking forward to playing for them again on March 17, 2024. 

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

A Tragic Beauty

One of my most recent paintings while traveling.
Slave Hut, Bonaire, 5″x 7″, watercolor on watercolor paper, 2023.

Of all the artworks I’ve ever done in my life, this simple little painting of a small hut (built in 1850) situated with others like it, on a pristine beach and depicted during on a beautiful day on a small southern Caribbean island just 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela… is the one that has me most conflicted. For all the beauty of the environment in which this hut is found and in spite of the peasant and simple construction of it… it has a heartbreakingly tragic story behind it. This tiny hut was not built for weekend getaways of the rich and famous during the 1850s (and is certainly not used for that today). It’s a remnant of the institution of slavery on the beautiful small Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire.

Huts like these were built as sleeping quarters for the slaves who were used to work the sea salt production industry on Bonaire. The huts are only large enough to crawl in and appear to be able to comfortably accommodate two sleepers. However, the huts were used often by 3 times that number.

When one finds art that depicts beauty, it’s always helpful know the history of the subject matter. That knowledge will help the viewer to understand the artwork better and even, in cases like this, understand the conflict in the soul of the artist who created it. There is such a thing as a tragic beauty… but it’s not an easy thing.

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/

Grand Cayman Rooster

Grand Cayman Rooster, 5″x 7″, watercolor on watercolor paper, 2023.

This is something I enjoyed painting while in the Caribbean Sea aboard a cruise ship.
When I travel I always take art materials and a camera (of course) with me because subject matter always presents itself. In fact I never have to go out looking for art subject matter, it quite often, literally, walks right up to me… as did this colorful feathered beauty.
When I’m aboard a cruise ship and working on a painting inspired by an experience on board or from one of the ports visited, I enjoy working in public areas. Sure, I could paint in the solitude of my stateroom, but I’d be missing the energy that is virtually everywhere people are gathered or through which they walk. Additionally, when I’m painting in a public space there is an opportunity to interact with the people who come up to see what I’m doing. Those interactions are always pleasant. Maybe it’s because people are on vacation, are relaxed and as such are simply their best social selves… but 100% of the time I’ve painted like this people are incredibly friendly and the interaction with them joyful. And aren’t those times the slices from the pie of life of which we all want more? 🙂

~ John Essex II is a retired art teacher who now lives what he calls the “beatnik artist’s life”. He is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow and an Indy Arts Council (Arts Council of Indianapolis) Creative Renewal Arts Fellow. Essex is also artist/owner of EssexArt ABC, LLC through which he keeps busy creating his own fine art, creates commissioned art, does caricaturing by commission and at special events, conducts private painting parties and is contacted regularly to play the bagpipes (yes… play the bagpipes). Essex also maintains two online print-on-demand stores where patrons can acquire gallery quality prints of his art as well as other products that feature his work. To view what Essex does, and/or to shop his online stores, go to: 
https://society6.com/essexart,
http://bit.ly/TPublic_EssexArt
To keep up with Essex and what he does at EssexArt ABC, LLC, follow him on:
Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/EssexArt,
Instagram at, https://www.instagram.com/essexart_abc (@EssexArt_ABC)
Essex is also listed in the Arts Council of Indianapolis artist directory at:
http://www.indyartsguide.org/artist/john-essex-ii/