John Bradley

John started doing watercolors “seriously” about 30 years ago. “I started later in life after I more or less retired.” He was a dentist in Concord, California. He and his wife later moved to Eugene, then to Waldport. “I always wanted to paint, but when you’re working it doesn’t work out very well to want to paint at night. I’ve tried it! Now I’ve got all the time in the world and I paint about four times a week and enjoy it very much.”

Most of Bradley’s paintings are landscapes, often inspired by the Oregon Coast. He paints them flat on a table, as opposed to up on an easel, and can finish about one per day. “I paint very wet and I suppose you could call me purist because I don’t use white paint. The white I use is the paper.”

Because he has so many originals, he long since stopped making prints of his work. His originals hang in homes as far away as Ireland and France.

Although Bradley’s paintings have earned him an international following , he said, “I don’t think I would say that I’m talented. I always had the urge to do it, even when I was young I had the inclination. I think it really takes persistence, particularly with watercolor. It’s a fun medium, but its a tricky medium. They don’t all turn out and not get discouraged when it doesn’t work. I think age helps a little bit. You’ve done a lot of things and they come back to you. I do a lot of painting from memory. I don’t do a lot of ‘plein air’ painting.”