About John

John Pike, N.A., A.W.S.

...a Bostonian by birth and an artist, world traveler, lecturer, teacher, author, musician, and inventor who has gained international recognition for his work in watercolor.

Having studied under Charles Hawthorne and Richard Miller at the Provincetown artist's colony, John Pike's illustrious career began at the age of sixteen when he gave his first one man show. By the time of his death, over sixty one man shows had been credited to his career.

John's world travels began at the age of twenty when he journeyed to Jamaica seeking adventure. There, he was commissioned to create advertisements for the Jamaican rum industry as well as design various stores, nightclubs, and the famed Carib Theatre for MGM in Kingston, Jamaica. 

As an official Air Force artist, John roamed the world recording US military activities in Greenland, Ecuador, Colombia, France, Germany, Formosa, Korea, Japan, and Egypt. These paintings are in the permanent collection of the U.S.A.F. Academy in Colorado Springs and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

Beginning in 1966, John journeyed to all corners of the earth conducting painting workshops for artists. These "Painting Holidays" traveled to England, Belgium, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Mexico, Jamaica, Ireland, Yugoslavia, Guatemala, Columbia, Australia, India, Iran, Ecuador, Thailand, Venezuela, East Africa, Norway, Netherlands, Chile, Honduras, Hawaii, Pakistan, and Tanzania.

His works were featured on the covers of Life, Readers Digest, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Time, Conservationist, American Artist and he was an illustrator for Colliers, Fortune, True and many other magazines throughout the years.

John has been called upon by such industrial giants as Standard Oil, Alcoa, Lederle Labs, and Equitable Life for his painting talents and he has been commissioned by industries such as National Cash Register, General Tire, and others for a variety of artistic projects which have received national acclaim.

His award winning paintings have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian National Museum, Grand Central Art Galleries, Ferrargil Galleries, and the World Trade Center in New York City, among many others. His work has been included in the United Nations Art Exhibition and are represented in many important public and private collections around the world.

He was invited to hang in the 200 Years of American Watercolor Show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Some of John's awards, among many others, have included the American Watercolor Society Award, the National Hallgarten Prize, Salmagundi Black and White Prizes, A.W.S. Watercolor U.S.A. Award, 1974 recipient of the National Academy Walter Briggs Memorial Award, 1976 top National Academy Watercolor Award William A. Patton Prize, A.W.S. John Young Hunter Award, The Academic Artists Association Helen Gould Kennedy Award, as well as the Franklin Mint Gold Medal Award for being one of twelve American Watercolor Society top prize winners for five years.

He was inducted into the National Academy, which is a top honor for artists in the U.S., was a member of the American Watercolor Society, The Society of Illustrators, Art Students League, Salmagundi Club, and the Woodstock Art Association.

He was commissioned by the National Gallery of Art and N.A.S.A. to be an official artist on the Apollo 10 Moon Shot. These paintings are held in the permanent collection of N.A.S.A.

John is the author of two of the best selling books on watercolor painting, Watercolor and John Pike Paints Watercolors, as well as the inventor of the patented John Pike Palette and John Pike's Perspective Machine.

John spent the summer months at his Woodstock, New York studio where he conducted the John Pike Watercolor School, devoted entirely to the watercolor medium. The reputation of the school was such that many art studios, advertising agencies, and corporations sent their professional artists for advanced study.