| John Berry’s love of nature began when he was a child, growing up in the desert areas surrounding Sparks, Nevada. He spent his young years chasing coyotes and jackrabbits through the sagebrush. As a youth, hiking and fishing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains refined his love and appreciation of nature. John’s artistic talent began to emerge in high school where he portrayed the environments of his native Nevada. While still in school, his art was displayed in a number of local exhibits and venues. As a junior, he won the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art competition. It was at that point that John decided painting was how he wanted to spend his life.
In 1992 John graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, specializing in Illustration. Following a few years of being the proverbial “starving artist”, he began to realize success by securing national clients such as: Citibank, U.S. Postal Service, Prudential, Simon & Schuster and quickly left the starving behind. John’s rise in the world of illustration left him additional time to explore other areas of the painting profession.
As illustration was paying the bills, the self-confessed fly-fishing junkie was continually drawn back to the images of his youth. His passion for hiking and fishing eventually brought him back to painting the thing he knew and loved—the outdoors. John’s paintings capture the subtlety and beauty of nature, his work also often portrays environments that are void of the sign of man. Inspiration for John’s paintings is drawn from his extensive travels throughout the Western United States.
John has said, “I have found the landscape, particularly the Western desert landscape; to be the primary drive for me to paint. Growing up in the West has always had an impact on the art I create. I strive to show a reverence for the land and its beauty by simplifying the shapes and forms in front of me. The West is large and slow, a lifetime of painting could only begin to touch upon its mystery and subtlety, and it is upon this premise that I make my life’s work.”
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