Stewartsville
artist John Stinger enjoys painting and helping other artists succeed
by Warren Reporter
Sunday March 15, 2009, 4:28 PM
John
Stinger has been an artist all his life and now he is giving much more
back to help others.
As the art curator for Straube Corporation and founder of The Fine Art
Alliance, Stinger is in a unique position to help talented artists participate
in no fee and no- percentage-of-sales shows that are especially appealing
during this recession.
And from the success
he is having with his stunning bi-monthly art shows at the Straube Center,
it is no wonder artists and art collectors are responding with keen
interest. To understand why, his experience in the arts and marketing,
explains it all.
Born in Trenton,
Stinger won an international poster contest as a teen and was presented
the first prize award by entertainer Steve Allen. In his late teens,
he was selling illustrations and cartoons to national sports and consumer
magazines. His painting ability was first noticed by his high school
art teacher who helped him win a full art scholarship. A large Delaware
River painting measuring 12 x 16 feet entitled "They Dug Too Deep"
won first prize in his home town painting contest. It depicted a prehistoric
winged dragon re- awakened from his long slumber by the dredging taking
place at the time to deepen the river.
But that was only
the start of his love affair with art. He studied painting and commercial
art at the School of Industrial Arts in Trenton under Ben Elliott, John
Slovak and Elizabeth Ruggles. The school was only several blocks away
from the river's edge which always fascinated the young artist. He met
Hazel Herman a publicist for Trenton Trust Bank then owned by Mary Roebling
and located directly across the street from the school. Soon, Stinger
had his first solo show at a private exhibition held at the Roebling
Mansion in Trenton hosted by Roebling, who became his first collector.
In early 1970s,
Stinger and his wife Susanne moved to a stone farm house in New Hope
where their daughter Karla was born. It was living in New Hope for many
years and the influence of the Pennsylvania Impressionists that first
inspired Stinger to develop his original style of painting. His early
association with New Hope painter and frame-maker Ben Babura and Jack
Wallace, head of the Portrait Department at Pratt in New York city,
enabled him to recognize, as well as collect paintings by well known
New Hope artists from that period.
The Stingers moved
to Stewartsville in the mid-1980s buying a small farm property and turning
it into an artist's haven with flowering bushes, a winding stream, stately
pine trees and a new light -filled studio where John paints every day.
He calls it a "landscape painters dream" because he doesn't
have far to travel to see nature in all its' glory.
Stinger specializes
in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York landscapes, and snow scenes
painting in oils on location but finishes his work in the studio. He
has traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe always looking for those
special places to paint.
A year ago, Stinger
teamed with Straube Corporation CEO and international art collector
Win Straube and together they are offering dedicated artists an opportunity
to participate in six bi-monthly shows at the Straube office and retail
complex in Pennington. Stinger selects the talent and curates all shows
for the company. The bi-monthly events are causing a stir in the art
community and are open seven days a week at the Straube Center. Admission
is free to the public and the selected artists are never charged a fee
for space and no percentages of work sold is ever collected, thanks
to both men. Stinger is always seeking talented local artists to join
him in his active fine art show program. Artist workshops, seminars
and demonstrations are also scheduled to begin in the fall at the Straube
Center. Many of the teachers are art show participants.
The spring Straube
recently opened and runs through April 24. The summer show opens May
8 and ends June 26 followed by the second summer event opening July
9 until August. The highlight of all the shows will be the New Collectors
Fine Art Show running Sept. 4 to Oct. 23. Students, collectors and art
lovers are encouraged to attend these family- friendly events.
For more information
about applying for participation in the free art shows, or to be placed
on the Straube Center Art Show invitation list, call (908) 319-8957
or visit www.stingerfineart.com.
|