John Gover

About the Artist

John was born in Baltimore Md in 1956. He was the first born and also the only child until the age of five. John was used to playing by himself and using his imagination. He was never good at sports and had no real desire to elevate himself in that regard. What he did enjoy though was immersing himself in drawing. As a child he would enter coloring contest on the back of a cereal boxes and then days and even weeks later wonder why he hadn't yet gotten word concerning his obvious win. Growing up, John never felt like he belonged. There was always an emphasis on fitting in, or of being tough even when one was a child. He would be told at times that he was always too sensitive. John rebelled inside and refused to be coerced into being someone he knew he wasn't. To him, it wasn't worth not feeling alone. This rebellion also drove John (perhaps unconsciously) even further to developing his skill as an artist. As he got older, his art got better. Drawing portraits seemed to be a special talent and one he would look forward to when given the chance. Even sometimes stealing a photograph of someone just to have a subject to draw and then of course return the photograph and admit his crime. He never worried about getting yelled at for his thievery since the victim was always happy to receive the sketch as a gift. Of course John was thankful for any accolades as well. In high school, John took up commercial art, but seldom showed up for class. Always being nervous and struggling with his own fears while also trying to hide what he was going through, he took up the habit of playing hooky during his senior year. And yet, he still managed to graduate, yet he also knew that it was not due to his own effort. A couple of years after high school, John left home. During this time he took some private art lessons in oil painting from one of his many cousins who had had success herself with her own art career. John enjoyed painting florals, seascapes, landscapes and even some portraiture. When John reached the age of twenty-six, he met his soon to be wife Kate, who was also an artist. They later had three boys. John worked sometimes long hours at his job at the newspaer plant including a lot of overtime. Consequently, his art for the most part took a back seat. It was during this time that he and Kate discovered that their boys suffered from autism. Then, a couple of decades later, to add even more to what was already a lot on their plate, they discovered that Kate was suffering from something known as Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS). A muscle condition similar to ALS but not as immediate nor usually fatal. In 2017, John discovered that he had been suffering from PTSD and while he still struggles mentally and still sometimes feels alone, he is getting better Now, John is semi retired. He paints non objective art mostly in acrylics and sometimes mixed media. He loves creating balance with color and form, while finding contentedness in the final results. He loves to sell his pieces and has done so, as well as reading a kind word or two about his art. He especially likes it when people go to the trouble of traveling to his home, even from out of state in order to purchase his art. He finds inspiration from other artist works through social media and reading of artist's own thoughts. He is currently reading some of the letters from Van Goh to his brother Theo.

Artist's Statement

Welcome to my site! I've been diagnosed with PTSD and I sometimes use my art as a means of pushing out the chaos in my head that I so often have to deal with. Painting pulls me into another zone of sorts. I seldom have a concept of what it might be that I'm creating and instead get pulled into the piece, adding color, form or whatever I think it needs as I go along. I grew tired of painting still life whether it be landscapes, seascapes or portraiture and was encouraged to do non objective or abstract. Once I started and got used to using acrylics, I became very encouraged with what I could accomplish. Also, non objective is a lot more fun and at least in my case, more therapeutic. Thank you and hope you enjoy.