Recent Paintings
Recent Paintings
Updated 2/20/20
Where do my ideas come from? I've been working in the Museum of fine Arts in Boston since 1987 as a guard. Frequently I find myself alone in the galleries with nothing to do but use my imagination. My Ideas come from a desire to escape to another plane, or another boat, or the mountains.
The time that I spend inhabiting the spaces of the building itself, its galleries, courtyards, has given me a library of ideas that are etched in my memory. I am grounded by the physicality of the existence of these spaces, and at the same time my pictures are a means of escaping to the sea. (not literally of course)
I am very interested in finding new homes for these paintings so I'll have room to make more.
johnstorrow@gmail.com
thanks
Anchor
A long time ago, the famous colossal anchor was discovered at the bottom of the Baltic sea. the people in the room beside the anchor can attest to its size.
The chain goes all the way up to the clouds.
It is on display in a dark museum somewhere.
Oil on canvas, 16 x 20, 2020
The only place I can afford to keep a row-boat
Living in an apartment in the city makes it difficult to build and use a ten foot wooden row-boat. We had a small dinghy a long time ago and we named it the "Pollywog". Some day, If I move close to the ocean, I will realize my dream of building a real row-boat.
Oil on panel, 18 x 24, 2019
Robot man on Hemenway street
The building that I live in is at the corner of Hemenway and Westland ave. I did not paint this from life, only from memory and imagination. The street is the stage upon which the robot man performs his act, by himself, with his three eyes and his three antenna. His feet are made of wheels.
Oil on wood, about five inches square, 2020
Ten characters at an art opening on the deck of a ship
The piece of ply-wood that I painted this on was originally a cutting board that I used for many years to cut tiny wooden parts for model airplanes.
Oil on wood, twelve inches square. 2019
Thumb
how could the tiny boat on my thumb be the same size as the boat at sea?
Oil on canvas, 18 x 24, 2020
Self portrait with tea-cup and radio transmitter
This used to be a completely different painting from years ago. It had a bunch of weird floating sculptures in blobs of various colors, and the two boats with the box shape. There wasn't enough room for my head at the top, I put myself in there to serve as a scale reference.
Oil on canvas, about 24 x 32, 1996 and 2019
Blow driers
I often go to model yacht races to race my boats. Its hard enough to concentrate on sailing the boat with your radio transmitter, let alone be able to communicate with your fellow skippers at the same time. This painting illustrates an imaginary system for each skipper to know what everybody else is thinking without even talking. I wasn't sure about the idea so my daughter suggested naming it "blow driers" or a way for skippers to get their hair blow-dried while sailing.
Oil on panel, 16 x 20, 2020 (work in progress)
Launching
The lovely proportions of a schooner are just as interesting at any scale.
Oil on panel, 11 x 14, 2020
Giant bug in the rotunda
Oil on panel, 11 inches square, 2019
Will it fit?
If it did fit in my apartment I would save a fortune in marina and winter storage fees.
Oil on panel, 11 inches square, 2019
The tentacles that deposit the right words into the right boxes.
Some times its hard to know what to say. Words don't always fit into neat organized boxes that make sense. Then along came the tentacles.
Oil on canvas, 24 x 30, 2019
Fountain of optimism
Wouldn't it be great if we could just flip a switch in real life and suddenly anything would feel possible? well now you can pretend to do that with this painting! Voila! Optimism!
Oil on canvas, 24 x 32, 2019
