John W. Walker

4077 Bowser Road
New Freedom, PA 17349
walkerjohnw@gmail.com

Born in 1942, formal education for the artist began in a one-room schoolhouse in York County, Pennsylvania, where on numerous occasions an impatient teacher applied a ruler to his fingers for drawing bunnies when he should have been doing seat work. Thankfully, a truce was reached with the teacher before any real damage was done. His formal education eventually culminated in post-graduate work with a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Education as well as a Principal’s Certificate. A teacher and principal for some twenty years, the artist spent the next twenty years as a computer programmer analyst at IBM.

Basically a self-taught artist, he continues to attend art classes and workshops as his schedule allows. John has attended art classes with Debi Watson as well as workshops with Sterling Edwards, John Salminen, Bill Vrscak, Tom Jones, Karlyn Holman, Lynne Yancha, Luke Buck, Paul Jackson, David Smith and Nicholas Simmons among others.

Currently the artist is a member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, York Art Association, Hanover Area Arts Guild, Baltimore Watercolor Society, Philadelphia Watercolor Society, Carlisle Arts Learning Center and the Adams County Arts Council. He enjoys entering and attending art exhibits and has been accepted into many juried competitions. He has been accepted as a Signature member of the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Baltimore Watercolor Societies. John also is active in the state and local art world, recently serving as President of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society. Prior to this year John has served as PWS President, Second Vice President, Treasurer, and Chairman of their Juried Exhibition. He also has served as a Trustee and as newsletter editor for the York Art Association.

John’s artwork has been accepted into many juried exhibitions, including the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society’s International Juried Exhibition and more recently at San Diego Watercolor Society, Morgantown, WV, Philadelphia Watercolor Society, and Missouri Watercolor Society. Most recently the artist has had a one man show at the Hanover Area Arts Guild, Moon Dancer Winery in Wrightsville, PA, the Paul L. Smith Library in Shrewsbury, PA, the Brown’s Orchard Market in Loganville, PA, the Stewartstown Library in Stewartstown, PA, and Moravian Manor, Lititz, PA. Most recently, John has been accepted into the AWS Associate Members Juried show.

As time flows incessantly by me, I try to grab those precious moments, many times with my camera, so that I can hold them and enjoy them forever.
To me, an artist sees the world, not always through rose-colored glasses, but in a more complex, detailed way. I am totally inspired by what I see around me and what I see within my imagination. Many times those two views cross and intermingle and produce something completely different from both. I must admit that I paint, not really for the world, but more so for myself. But it is always appreciated when the world likes what I have painted and honors me for what I have created.

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