John MacGowan draws on his lifetime in top-level yacht racing, including five America’s Cup campaigns, for accurately-detailed marine images.  Widespread travel experiences, from which he’s gathered impressions of dramatic and varied natural scenery, enhance his landscapes and seascapes.  He frequently works “en plien air” with his mobile pochade box.  In this tradition, John collects actual color and scale information in field sketches to be further worked in the studio.

 

 

John received a bachelor of Fine Arts, cum laude, from C. W. post College, New York in 1979.  In 1992, John was commissioned by a private costumer to coordinate and produce a custom-designed maritime archive, which now totals thirty-two volumes.  In 1994, John’s original oil paintings began to sell well, developing a following in private collections here and abroad.  Today he is a full time oil painter, creating traditional sea and landscapes.  Many of his landscapes are painted on location during extensive travel.  Settings include the Arizona desert, the Maine coast, New Zealand, and the South Pacific, Italian settings in Florence and Tuscany and most recently in Maui.  When at home he is seen daily capturing beautiful coastal and historic scenery in Newport, Rhode Island.