John Heine
John Heine was born in Washington D.C. in 1950.
After 30 years as a professional cartoonist, Heine decided, in 1990, to jump head-first into oil painting.
His early oil paintings of this period were explorations of the human figure and color always focused on manipulating the human form in new ways. His most financially successful paintings was a long-running series called Chaotic Neighborhood. Each canvas consisted of numerous overcrowded twisting, turning houses painted with a riot of color.
In 2000, after ten years of painting, he decided to take a sabbatical from making art. He did not paint or draw for nearly seven years.
Then in 2007 the desire to make art came back in full force. This time however, he decided to take a new route and try his hand at abstract paintings. These early canvases had an organic puzzle-like feel with a deep impasto surface that was carved and scratched into revealing an under coat of paint. As the paintings progressed the shapes became less organic and more clearly defined, more muscular with the negative space behind the shapes taking on more importance. The colors became brighter and more contrasting. The scratching/carving into the outer impasto surface has evolved into unusual and spontaneous drawings within the larger shapes that have an archetypal, mysterious yet familiar feel. All of these ingredients come together to make each canvas a very powerful statement.
