Voyage Dallas, an on-line magazine serving the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex, recently conducted this short interview with me for “The Most Inspiring Stories in Dallas” section of the magazine. The interview with images, different from those shown here, was posted on 26 July 2017, and may be viewed HERE.
John, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. I am an artist, primarily a landscape painter. My paintings are in oil, naturalistic in style, and depict scenes of the “America We All Love”. My journey began when trying to decide what to major in while in college. Beginning as a business major, I quickly switched to art, and graduated from Wichita State University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.
After a four-year stint with the Air Force in California and attending the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles at night, Dallas became home in 1972. At that time, I began a freelance illustration career and worked with all of Dallas’ largest advertising agencies for ten years.
By 1982, the advertising industry was beginning to change, I had tired of the illustration business, so a decision was made to switch to the fine arts…something I preferred to do from the beginning but was told you’ll never make a living in the fine arts. Anyway, I did take the leap and have been a professional in the fine arts ever since.
“Rural Estate” – 9″ x 18″ – Oil
Has it been a smooth road? I don’t know of any profession in which the road traveled provides smooth sailing, certainly not the “arts”. The stresses, obstacles, and challenges that attend a self-employed artist always exist. We struggle with the quality of the work, deadlines, rejection, self-doubt, and sales; it’s continuous.
Freelance illustration provided a more stable income, because once good work was produced for an ad agency, one could generally count on a pretty continuous flow of assignments. Fine art on the other hand is considerably more difficult, and much less predictable, so one really needs to stay vigilant in doing quality work, finding good representation, staying visible to the public through various forms of media, live frugally, and put any extra income aside for the inevitable ups-and-downs of the market.
“Yard Art” – 10″ x 14″ – Oil
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the John Pototschnik Fine Art story. Tell us more about the business. I have been blessed greatly to do what I love, despite the stresses and frustrations, because this is what God has led me to do. I am an oil painter of landscapes, cityscapes, still life, and figurative subjects, but my first love is the landscape.
The landscape provides a venue for me to express my feelings about nature, the amazing variety of the land, it’s ever changing moods, and man’s relation to it. I do this in a naturalistic way…in other words…the paintings have a reality, a deep truth about them that allows the viewer to enter, to escape, to remember, and experience peace.
My paintings are not flamboyant, not mysterious, not trendy, nor are they shocking. I am interested in depicting the truth about life, as I see it, in a naturalistic way – free of frills and bravado. I enjoy painting simple, common, everyday life and objects as things of beauty and worth. I strive to show the dignity and value of the subjects I paint. I hope to give to society paintings that transcend the culture and its ever changing tastes…paintings that speak to the heart.
“Jackson and Marble” – 9″ x 15″ – Oil
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade? I’m not sure what the future holds for the fine art of painting. There will always be a place for beautiful things, things that elevate, but whether individual hand-crafted paintings will have as much value and importance to future generations as they have had in the past, I don’t know.
Lack of art education, shortened attention span, ever expanding technology, increased desire for the latest and greatest thing…and a new generation that has had little exposure to fine art… could greatly affect how fine art is valued in the future.
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I am continuing to offer to you, my newsletter subscribers, blog, and Facebook followers, something special…and up until now…unseen color studies that I’ve done over the years in preparation for a larger piece, or as stand alone works of art. These color studies are done on 100 lb archival paper that has received one coat of gesso; paper size is 5.5″ x 8.5″ and contains my notes: date painted, location, palette used, etc. Each study is offered in three configurations: 1) Image with notes (unmounted); 2) Image with notes (mounted on board); 3) Image only (mounted on board). This week’s offering is a study for “The Narrow Gate”. If interested in owning one of my works, here’s a very affordable opportunity. For now, these offers are only for those in the United States; I will pay all shipping and applicable sales tax. Click on image to enlarge. Let me know of your interest. Thanks.
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I am very pleased to announce the release of my first instructional DVD, Limited Palette Landscapes, professionally produced by Liliedahl Art Videos. The video contains over 15 hours of instruction and follows my painting process from selection of the canvas to the final brush stoke. For a detailed description of the video contents, including a short video…and order instructions…please click HERE. Thank you in advance for adding this DVD to your video library. Upon viewing, if you would kindly share your comments with me, I would greatly appreciate it. THANK YOU.
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You may keep up with my weekly Facebook postings at: “John Pototschnik Fine Art“….and subscribe to my YouTube channel at: “John Pototschnik“. Thank You.
