Created by master impressionist, John Clayton, the front cover of DESTINATION FLORIDA’s new Fall issue pays tribute to Key West’s notorious Headdress Ball (Thursday, Oct 28) which takes place each year during the annual Fantasy Fest Celebration (October 22 – 31).
Like our cover art, John’s paintings are a testament to the beauty of light and color. An accomplished plain air painter, his approach to painting is simple:
“I work with a brush or a palette knife. I start with large masses of color spots and begin relating them one to the other until they begin to express what I visually have been studying, much like the way a conductor arranges his orchestra.”
It may sound easy but his mastery took years in the making.
After a stint at The Art Student’s League of New York, John journeyed to Provincetown where he embarked on an intense period of study at the Cape School of Art, one of the country’s preeminent outdoor painting schools.
John painted outdoors as often as he could. Over many years, he matured into a devoted plein air painter and is now part of Provincetown’s historic legacy of impressionist painters.
In the summer, you can find him painting and teaching throughout Cape Cod. Come winter, he heads on down to Key West where he spends his days capturing the incomparable light, beautiful colors, topography, culture, and creativity of our little island paradise.
His vibrant depictions of his two favorite towns make him a favorite with collectors around the world. Needless to say, we are ever so proud to have one of his original works gracing our Fall cover.
You can see more of his work at johnclaytonstudio.com.
