Today we’d like to introduce you to John Salozzo
Hi John, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started doing freelance illustration in the early 1980’s. My business and client list grew. I did illustrations for just about all the popular magazines, record companies, and blue-chip corporations at the time. My business was located in Boston. I was doing a lot of ad work that appeared in magazines like Rolling Stone magazine. I was offered to paint the cover for the rock group Boston’s third album, Third Stage. I was awarded a platinum album for my work on the cover. Through the years I have done illustrations and design work for many advertising, industrial, and high-tech companies.
I had worked with some of the brightest marketing folks in the corporate and advertising world and I learned from them. In the mid-1990’s I sold my business and took a job in the corporate marketing world as a Director of Marketing. As things were quickly transitioning to all digital illustration I saw the writing on the wall and made a move. In 2016 I left the commercial illustration world behind and focused on fine art. I am a realist painter who uses the airbrush in conjunction with other traditional media to make my paintings.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Sometimes smooth and lots of rough times too. My success has a lot to do with timing. I came into my art /work life with good airbrush illustration skills that were in demand. In the late 1980’s I saw the industry moving toward digital so I invested in equipment and learned all the info I could to create illustrations using digital. At this time I would say I was about 80% traditional and 20% digital. I had good outside representation so my workload was pretty consistent but the early computer equipment was very expensive [example]: we put $10K worth of ram into our Mac for 100 MB. Growing any business is a struggle. We spent money on equipment, software, rent, employees, new airbrush equipment, paints and marketing. There was no Internet at this time or it was in its earliest stages. When the Internet became integral to my business I had to invest and learn that too besides doing traditional illustrations. It was exhausting but paid off.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I like to paint what I understand. My painting style is realism, not hyper-realism. I like to paint architecture, still lifes and landscapes. I’ve been told many times that my paintings remind people of a cross between David Hockney and Edward Hooper. This is unintentional on my part but I admire both painters so I’ll take the compliment.
What sets me apart from some fine artists is my preparation and execution. Having done illustration work for many years under tight deadlines for very fussy creative directors and art directors I get all my prep work done before I start a painting then proceed to finish the painting. I use many photos for reference and sketches to arrive at the final composition, lighting and detail I want to express in the final art. It sometimes takes over 100 hours to complete a painting but a lot of that time is in the prep work- choosing a color pallet, designing the image I am painting, and any experimentation.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
People contact me in a variety of ways- through my website, Facebook or Instagram. They will inquire about the size, timeline, and price. I exhibit at galleries and at exhibitions where folks come by and we talk about my work and discuss future commissions. I don’t usually participate and show at art fairs.
I also donate some paintings to charitable causes, do newspaper and magazine interviews, and write some step by step info of my work for art magazines.
Pricing:
- I price by the project
- Size and level of detail &shipping costs.
- $1,000+
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.johnsalozzoart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnsalozzoart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jsalozzo/
