John Pototschnik

Paintings That Speak to the Heart

Episode 40


Episode length: 1 hour, 3 minutes



John Pototschnik is a fine art painter who resides in Wylie, Texas. As a young boy, his parents instilled in him a strong work ethic. Doing chores, selling his mother’s cookies door-to-door, and having a newspaper route – all these experiences would lay the foundation for how John approaches the work of being a professional artist today. He began his professional career as an illustrator. The discipline of meeting deadlines, and being attuned to a client’s needs further honed his creative skills. After ten years of working as an illustrator, John made the leap to working full-time as a fine art painter.

However, that leap did not come without challenges. For example, in order to overcome the tendency towards using highly saturated colors common to illustration work, John dove into an intense period of experimentation with color. In time, that experimentation led to using a limited palette. Mastering the limited palette proved to be key in achieving beautiful paintings with high dynamic range and expressive color that John is known for.

Today, students rave about John's color workshops. You may recall in a previous episode of the Artful Painter that Amanda Lovett shared how attending John’s color workshop was transformative to her. John recently wrote a book about color for artists: Limited Palette, Unlimited Color – which also has a companion instructional video.

John's paintings may bring to the viewer’s mind childhood memories, but that is not necessarily his primary intent. His desire is to create something beautiful that draws people in. He considers himself primarily a landscape painter. He loves small-town neighborhoods and the atmosphere found in those neighborhoods. He captures the beauty of those small towns and rural landscapes – both outdoors and in his studio.

John Pototschnik's mastery of color and values – all using a limited palette – lead to beautifully harmonious paintings that speak to the heart.

John Pototschnik

I enjoy depicting simple, common, everyday life and its objects as things of beauty and worth. I intend to show the dignity and value of the subjects I paint – just as my artistic influences have. Through continued hard work I want to give to society paintings that transcend the culture and it’s ever changing tastes. . . paintings that speak to the heart.
— John Pototschnik

Click on the images above for a larger view.

End of a Great Day | 12 x 24 inches | Oil | © John Pototschnik


Carl Olson

Artist, photographer, filmmaker, and podcaster.

http://theartfulpainter.com
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