John received the 2014 Minnesota State Fair People's Choice Award for Best Customer Service. Below are two photos of John with his award. The photo on the left shows the award winning group. The photo on the right shows State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer presenting John with the award.
John was awarded ‘Best of Show’ in Drawings and Pastels at the 2011 and 2012 Stone Arch Festival of the Arts in Minneapolis.
John was the “Artist of the Month” at the Red Rock Center Art Gallery in Fairmont, MN for February, 2010. He is scheduled to attend the Open House and Artist's Reception on February 16, 2010, and give a presentation of his photographs and ink drawings at 12:00 noon. For more information, please click here to view the Red Rock Center for the Arts Railroad Day information page.
John was awarded ‘Best of Show’ for Drawings at the 2007 Stone Arch Festival of the Arts in Minneapolis.
He was featured in an article in the Hutchinson Leader Newspaper on July 3, 2018.
My goal is to promote our fine transportation heritage by preserving historical icons of a bygone era through both original artworks and limited–edition reproductions.
I have been exploring these subjects virtually my entire life. Railroads have always held a special fascination for me, as nearly all of the previous generations of my family depended on it for their livelihood. I could see the important role they once played in the social and economic fabric of our country, and that the traditions of that earlier era were being swept away forever. I chose to use the medium of ink drawing to evoke rich images of this previous era in the idealistic hope that people would someday opt to restore this more sensible method of moving people and goods with less harm to the environment than transportation modes of today afford.
My images are created from photographs of the earlier era; either taken by myself 20–30 years ago or photos obtained from a variety of sources (books, museums, and individuals). I then create a composition that involves some minor rearrangement of the elements and leaving out of items such as autos and other extraneous items. Sometimes consultation with people familiar with the location in the era depicted has helped add certain details.
The drawings are nearly all 10 x 14 inches with a few being 12 x 15 inches. They are executed, after the initial pencil sketch, with technical pens and india ink. A straightedge and templates are sometimes used for line control. The original drawings are done on 150 lb. Bristol drawing paper.
In addition to the original drawings, I offer many of my images as reproductions produced in editions of 100, or sometimes, 200 “prints”. These are produced commercially using offset lithography. I have worked with the same printing company for nearly 20 years and have developed a good working relationship with them.
979 Hardwood Ave.
Shoreview, MN. 55126–9135
(651) 481–8479
National Railway Historical Society
Northstar Chapter, NRHS
Chicago & North Western Historical Society
Great Northern Railway Historical Society
Milwaukee Road Historical Society
Minnesota Transportation Museum
Missabe Historical Society
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association
Rock Island Technical Society
Soo Line Historical and Technical Society
Art Show Schedule | Available prints A–H | Available prints I–P | Available prints R–Z | Order Form
This page last revised on August 17, 2022.
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