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John N. Stewart, biography
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b i o g r a p h y :
John was born in San Bernardino, California in 1940. His family moved to Glendale, California when he was 1 year old. He spent his teens growing up in an old duplex which housed living quarters on one side and a art and ceramic studio on the other. He was exposed to many forms of art here since artists from all over the world taught classes here. He learned to throw pottery on the wheel, paint china, create ceramic tile murals, and welded sculpture along with more traditional drawing and painting techniques. Because his father (a frustrated sculptor ) built ceramic kilns and potters wheels John was able to meet many artists including sculptor Peter Voulkos, Roger Derricarer, Hilda Gentry and many others.
He took the Famous Artist's correspondence course in his teens but lost interest after seven or eight lessons. He was awarded a scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles in the late fifties and early sixties and later attended Art Center for a brief period of time. He had begun painting murals and art projects for various restaurants, hospitals etc. while still in High School. Murals for the Halliburton building, Glendale YMCA, Normandy Casino, and Canter's restaurant, and the Thunderbird Hotel (Las Vegas), followed. He also did paintings for Ricky's Valley Inn, the first IHOP restaurants (heraldic tiles), and a dozen or so other restaurant projects.
One art project that stands out was a mural project for the Joseph Bean estate in La Canada, California. It began as a ceramic tile mural in the entry way and a year later had escalated to painted murals throughout the house. John has done several projects for Walt Disney including art for the new Fantasyland in 1980 - Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the Snow White Ride. He has done several of the Haunted Mansion Paintings for Disneyland, Anaheim and Euro- Disneyland. In 1984 he painted two large portraits of the dowager emperor and empress for the China Pavilion at Epcot Center. In 1994 and 1995 he collaborated with artist Ron Gress in the design and painting of several murals for the Hilton Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Subjects were the Grand Canyon, the Reno air and balloon races, and a 190 foot nature and wildlife mural.
John had his first art show on La Cienega at the age of 21 and since then has participated in scores of others. He had a special exhibition at Lakeland College in Ohio in 1978. Other recent participation include the Space Gallery, the Morseburg Gallery, and The Craig Fine Arts Gallery in Tuscon, Arizona. The majority of his drawings and paintings are in the William Smith collection. His work has been shown in many states and in several European countries. There have been a few limited edition prints, one for Unicorn, two for the "Battlefield Earth" series along with the calendar. He is a member of the National Watercolour Society, The California Art Club and the Motion Picture Scenic and Title Artists. John is currently listed in Who's Who of the Entertainment Industry, Who's Who in California, 5000 Personalities of the World and Who's Who in America (special supplement).
He is currently in demand as a special projects artist for film and entertainment projects. Portraits, Illustrations and replicas of famous paintings are his specialty. He has done portraits of Bette Davis (from life), James Brolin, Brian Keith, Valerie Perine, Norman Lloyd and many others for various film projects. His work can be seen in "The Addam's Family", "Bodyguard", "Free Willy" and in three Michael Jackson's videos. John resides in Sun Valley, California. For fun he paints out of doors, constructs sculptures, writes music, programs computers and synthesizers, and takes pictures.
