John Essex II, of EssexArt ABC, LLC

This caricature was commissioned by the owner of Mr. B's Cigar Box (Avon, IN).

This watercolor painting was done, en plein air, in Avon, Indiana at the first Arts of Indiana event. I was fortunate enough to win a purchase prize for it that day and it is now owned by the town of Avon and is on display in that town's civic center.

This work, titled We Won't Work Without Words, was initially commissioned by InTake Magazine (now Indy.com, The Magazine) for their lounge at one of the Oranje evenings (Oranje is an annual one night festival of art and music). It now resides in the downtown offices of Indy.com, The Magazine.

This watercolor and ink work is of one of my favorite places in the world. It is of an old fishing "lodge" on a deserted island called Ship Channel Cay in the Bahamas chain of islands called Exumas. The cay is now leased to an excursion company called Powerboat Adventures out of Nassau, Bahamas. If you are ever in Nassau, this all day excursion is a must-do. I make this trip annually and it has virtually become a tropical pilgrimage. One member of my family even said this trip is looked forward to every year with a Christmas Day- like anticipation.

"Artist Peter Max in Indy". This is a rubbing I created of one of the art influences from my Jr. High and High School years. Max seemed to drop out of sight for many years, then I was reintroduced to his work at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. When Max had an exhibit at a local Indianapolis art gallery a few years ago, I was lucky enough to attend the opening, talk to him a little bit, get his autograph and take a picture of him lecturing to the crowd. It was inevitable that I would do an expression inspired by that evening.

When my wife said she was getting me a corn-hole game, I told her I wanted the boards blank so I could put my own designs on them. After thinking about how I wanted to cover the white boards I came up with a design that both of us liked.
The caricatures of the two of us contain imagery of our college life at Franklin College, our love of the tropics, my fraternal orders and several other things.
Now if I can only learn to play corn-hole.
(BTW, I'm currently taking orders for doing caricatures on corn hole game boards)

Torn Between Two Loves. 5"x 7". 2008. Prismacolor on paper rubbing. I like to somehow include some humor in many of my works. This one is an expression iinspired by conversations I've heard many people have on the sports shown. Trying to do things a little differently, I've arranged for this work to be available for sale in a venue different from others I've used in the past. It's priced it very low too! To find out more copy & and paste the address below (it's a long address so highlight & drag cursor into the color side-bar) and go to:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=360041992591&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=023

View of Mississinewa Lake from the Frances Slocum Picnic Shelter. gouache on illustration board. Done en plein air during Labor Day weekend while on a camping trip. Sometimes one just wants to get out of town, go camping and get away from it all. Evidently, on Labor Day weekend, EVERYONE wanted to get away from it all and go camping! Nevertheless, a quiet, secluded spot was found and some time for painting was enjoyed.

Drawing caricatures at the "Welcome Bash" Franklin College hosts annually (on campus) is a lot of fun. Doing caricatures at special events in Marion and surrounding counties is something I really enjoy doing. I do them at private parties, corporate events, collegiate events, in my booth at Oranje and even high school post-proms. One can't help but meet a wide range of interesting people when doing caricatures and it is always... yes ALWAYS... fun interacting with them.

Doing caricatures of two Franklin College Students.

The happy caricatured college couple.

BTW, if you need a caricaturist to liven-up an event you're having, contact me.

Nervous... Paint Red, 5"x 7", prismacolor rubbing on paper.
One interesting thing about revisiting a theme is the way those revisitations can express a variety of mindsets. An image used in a slightly different way has the capability of communicating an entirely different mood. (see Heavy Hand Paints)

Visit my website at http://www.essexart.webs.com


To see more examples of my artwork, please go to:
http://www.indy.com/people/Essex
and click on "photos".