Photo courtesy of Caroline Munson Pictured is Marshall resident and painter John Munson with his artwork in his basement.

Marshall resident and painter John Munson has several paintings in an exhibition at El’s Gallery in Sioux Falls and will shortly be coming to the MAFAC gallery in Marshall in November.

Munson, originally from Sioux Falls, didn’t pick up a paint brush until college. He went to Minnesota West in Worthington to play basketball:

“All I did was play basketball. That was strictly it,” he said.

But, while there, knee injuries sent him looking for a new interest to devote himself to. So he took an art class.

“I never really cared about art before,” Munson said.”I liked visually looking at things, but as far as doing it, no.”

He was surprised when his teacher remarked that he was talented, with a unique style, and finding the practice enjoyable, he pursued it and continued to paint every single day.

When he finished up his associate’s, he transferred to Southwest Minnesota State University and graduated with a studio arts degree in 2006, as well as “fell in love with the city of Marshall.”

But while he had some of his art in the Marshall Area Fine Arts Counsel (MAFAC) gallery just after graduating, he hasn’t pursued an art career in some years. He focused on his young children, songwriting and building a stable career.

An encouragement from his mom to put some art work hanging around in his parents’ home in the East Bank Gallery of Sioux Falls however, led to a pursuit by El’s Gallery, last fall for some of his works.

This along with his daughter’s question of why he doesn’t paint any more, prompted him to start painting and that passion came quickly again. Now in the last eight months, around 30 of his pieces have been sold through El’s gallery, and he’s painted almost 200 pieces since December

Munson said he’s always been drawn to landscapes and that’s what takes up the majority of his large, hand made canvases which pepper the walls of his home and basement as they dry.

“I just like looking at something, being like, ‘Man, I’d like to be there,” he said.

Not knowing hardly anything about art history or any contemporary artists, when he started, his style came solely from his own instinct and even while getting his degree he preferred to think of himself as self taught:

“You learn to do it your way, versus being confined to being taught,” Munson said. “I got told to do it like this, because this is the way I was taught, versus (it), might not be technically correct or right, but I like it.”

“It’s a sloppy style that I like because it’s me,” Munson said. “I’ve never been a precise person … I like the human error.”

He’s very particular about the mood he works to create in his paintings.

“(I) try to stay away from too many dark, depressing, sad things,” Munson said. “just because there’s so much of that in the world.”

His paintings are often bold and colorful, with rich blues and bright yellows. To look at his painting is to wonder at a world that could be far more vibrant than the one around us, and inviting us to bring more color into our own.

He feels that time off from painting rejuvenated him.

“I feel like it really did, It was almost becoming like a chore … but now it’s just straight fun,” said Munson. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m more confident, but it’s just such a free flowing, fun process.”

He also feels like he’s finally hit his stride in terms of style.

“In the past…I’d be like, it’s there, but it doesn’t have the freedom that I want,” he said.

Now he feels they suddenly do and that he could look at them for ages.

“I do it for my own satisfaction, that I like it, and I really hope other people do too,” he said.