At the northeast corner of Church Street and Darrow Avenue is a building marked “Strange.” Ever wondered what’s inside? Well, the Strange Studios live there, and John Herron, watercolor artist extraordinaire and much-in-demand teacher, is among the eight artists who share a large, lofted studio inside.
The 2024 summer issue of Watercolor Artist magazine, a quarterly national magazine for artists who favor the water media, will publish eight pages on this highly skilled Evanston watercolorist and the story of his Tornado Series.
On Dec. 10, 2021, Herron was watching the news and learned of the EF4 tornado that had just occurred in Mayfield, Kentucky, a town of 10,000 people. He was shocked to see the devastation and to hear of the loss of 37 lives and so many homes. The tornado went right down Mayfield’s main street, virtually destroying the town.
Wondering what he might do to help the people who lost their homes, Herron thought it might lift the spirits of those who would be building new ones (with the help of FEMA and major charity organizations) if they had a piece of original art to go in their new residence. It could be healing, he hoped.
As an older artist (he prefers “senior”) with flat files filled with paintings, most of which he knew he’d never bother framing and marketing, Herron decided to give some away and, more importantly, to encourage other artists, mostly older also, to give away theirs as well. In some cases, it took quite a bit of convincing, he told me.
“Most people don’t own original art – don’t even know what it is,” he said.
Herron found that Mayfield had an art guild in an old ice house, but that building was destroyed in the tornado. In Spring of 2022, Herron contacted Mayfield by phone, where his gift idea was met with enthusiasm and passed on to the local art guild.
Everyone, he said, was “happy to be a part of an effort to bring art into the lives of neighbors who had lost everything. Every person in town knew someone who had lost a home, a business, or a loved one. The tornado was the defining moment in everyone’s life. It’s what they remember, it’s what they talk about. Some can’t talk about it without tears.”
Herron talked to friends and artists he knew, ultimately gathering 200 donated works of art that he drove to Mayfield. The works were stored until a system of distribution could be worked out by the recovery team, which consisted of FEMA, the local government, major charities and members of the Graves/County/Mayfield Art Guild. The team selected victims to choose a painting. Distribution took three weeks.
Meanwhile, as he kept reading about the catastrophe and thinking about it, Herron decided to try painting a tornado. He had never done so before.
“I got caught up in them,” he said, producing a series of 30 works, a few of which have sold.
In his paintings, Herron decided to – subtly – include images of some of the buildings Mayfield had lost, but he never allowed himself to use a human figure. Most of the works are in the 12-by-16-inch range, with a few as large as 24 by 36, painted on Arches 140-pound cold press paper.
Mayfield is still undergoing reconstruction. Twenty-eight tornado paintings are on exhibit currently at the Graves County Public Library. Although priced for sale, “they must remain in Mayfield,” said Herron.
The unsold paintings will be raffled off or donated to Mayfield public offices at the end of the show – police or fire stations, post office, charity headquarters.
Gifting has become one of two messages Herron has now for other artists: 1) Give it away, and 2) record it (digitally) first.
“With digital technology, you can make a book of beautiful prints of your art and your family will have the joy of seeing all your paintings, without having to hang or store them all,” he said.
Herron grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and went to art school at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. After graduation, he worked in commercial art production but didn’t like the late hours, so he went back to college to learn marketing at Michigan State University.
Upon his return to Chicago, Herron returned to the advertising agency, but on the business management side. Ultimately he opened his own firm.
During his business career, Herron painted occasionally, he said, but when he retired, he dove back in with watercolor classes at the Evanston Art Center. His studio at the time was in his well-lit basement on Cleveland Street. Now he has a great studio spot at Strange, teaches at the Evanston Art Center and travels to conduct occasional weekend workshops, mostly in Michigan.
The summer issue of Watercolor Artist will be out in May. The Tornado Series exhibit at the Graves County Public Library is up April 1 through the end of May, 601 N. 17th St., Mayfield, Kentucky.
Well done John–beautiful works!
John is not only a gifted artist, he’s also a gifted art teacher. He’s shared his talents by teaching residents at 1020 Grove, where he lives ,to paint and appreciate art.