“To express a place in art we need to take certain risks…we need intimacy of a sort that demands a certain daring and risk: a surrender, an abandonment.“
–John Haines
Over the past few days, I’ve really found myself missing some of what the Coronavirus has temporarily taken away from us in Ogunquit.
Between the stay-at-home orders and town mandated closures, some of the places we most cherish in Ogunquit are off limits until this crisis passes. The beaches. The dramatic majesty of the Marginal Way. The salt-crusted coastal scenery of Perkins Cove. The Ogunquit Museum of American Art (OMAA) has postponed its opening. Barn Gallery has postponed its opening.
For now, our best options to visit the grandeur of these places that mean so much to us are through descriptions in books, photos on websites, Ogunquit beach webcams, and the work of artists who have captured their magnificence by camera or canvas.
John David O’Shaughnessy is one such artist. That’s why I’d like to take these next few moments to introduce you to this friend of mine — and fellow Ogunquit Art Association artist.
Most collectors who know Ogunquit art are by now familiar with O’Shaughnessy’s coastal paintings. In O’Shaughnessy, we find a hard working and gifted artist with an accurate eye for the true colors of coastal Maine. The painter stands before his easel through the full variety of New England seasons on windswept beaches, granite seaside cliffs, and in the shadows of historic fishing shacks. He draws focus on the play of sky-born light against the energetic verve of weather and water. He applies confident strokes of thick paint to his canvas with an intensity mirroring the elemental tidal fury before him. The hues are honest. Churning, foamy, rumbling depictions of the complex symphonic order always found where land meets sea. The substance of beaches, and rocks, and clouds blend together within the maelstrom of color, all present and accounted for, fully recognizable in a place somewhere between feeling and form.
Conservationist author John Muir wrote, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” That quote reminds me of O’Shaughnessy’s coastline compositions. In deconstructing some of the shapes and structures of visible nature, and then leaning more heavily on the color elements that serve as their building blocks, O’Shaughnessy is distilling these complete scenes of nature down to their purest essences; color palettes, where the hardest physical edges have been stripped away, exposing the seamless connections and interplay between everything that’s left. These evocative canvases full of paint-swatch brushstrokes invite the eye and always tell vivid, captivating stories about the places they depict.
Who Is John David O’Shaughnessy?
As told on John David O’Shaughnessy’s Official Website:
John David O’Shaughnessy was born in New Brunswick New Jersey. He studied Painting at Massachusetts College of Art with Rob Moore, Jeremy Foss, Dan Kelleher and George Nick where he received his Bachelor degree in fine art in painting. He has developed his eye over the years through work in fabric design, window display and product design. His paintings are known for carrying an intensity of movement that are held in bold gesture; saturated, improvisational color; and an unrelenting pursuit of fugitive light.
Recent years concentrate John works into an intuitive translation of nature pulled fresh from the ocean, skies, lakes, or mountainsides. He can often be found painting seascapes directly from life in all shifts of weather along the coast of Maine, or on the edges of hidden coves along the New England coast. He was inspired by his study in Stonington Maine for two summers in recent years with the late Jon Imber, breaking into a new phase of language in his paintings. John teaches drawing, painting and printmaking at the Currier Museum of Art along with other venues. He shows his paintings in galleries throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. He is a member of Ogunquit Art Association in Maine.
My Conversation with John David O’Shaughnessy
Hello, John. Can you take a moment to describe to my readers the type of work for which you are known?
Yes, in recent times I’ve focused on ocean inspired plein air painting. For many years I’ve worked on mostly non representational abstract color based work in the studio.
I’m always interested in the force that fuels artistic creation in my fellow artists – and I’d love to talk a little about how you were called to pursue a life in the arts. Can you describe what it is that puts you into artistic action, compels you to pick up the brush, and sparks you to begin applying color to a new canvas?
As far as the painting itself, for me it’s a meditative state and my focus is on color, light, and the mark. I’m incredibly inspired by the beauty, motion, and the power of the ocean. The relationship between observation, response, and the shifting conditions I feel driven to paint in oil – they all open up endless possibilities to captivate the eye.
The off-season in Maine tends to be a fertile time for artists to begin experimenting with new ideas. Plus, these COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have given us a larger amount of idle hours at home than most of us are accustomed to as springtime begins to emerge. Are you working on anything new these days; different mediums, processes, themes?
Over this winter I was invited to participate in a show of miniature art at Engine in Biddeford here in Maine. It was wonderful to work outside of my primary area of focus. The process was less physical and more cerebral; and it was fun working on miniature paintings. I’m also excited about working on plates for a series of ocean scape etchings along with block prints. I love printmaking. But, overall, my main focus still remains oil painting. I’ve been working recently on several oil paintings in the studio, and it will be exciting to discover where this will take my work.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an artist?
Art is my life. It’s what I’ve dedicated my life to in one form or the other; through painting and showing, teaching and instructing, or research and study, I pursue art in all forms. As for challenges, I think many artists feel it’s a challenge to keep persevering regardless of any life conditions.
Another thing I always enjoy hearing about are some of the works by other artists that may have served as milestones or signposts along life’s journey for my friends in the arts. Are there any specific pieces of art by others that have had an impact on your life or work?
Yes. Absolutely. As a child, my psyche was etched by the work I had seen in books by a wide variety of artists, from Winslow Homer through to Albert Pinkham Ryder; it was through those that learned about mystery and the unknown. During high school, I was fascinated by German Expressionists;. Then in college, through the Abstract Expressionists, I learned how raw energy could be transformed into beauty. I remember visiting the museums in Boston during my college years at Massachusetts College Of Art. Some of the specific paintings that had an impact on me were Van Gogh’s self portrait and Marsden Hartley’s small mountain scapes at the Fogg. Those works made me start to respond to painting on a more visceral level. And after seeing Monet and Sargent at the MFA, I developed a deeper understanding about how those artists saw the light and channeled it into their own work.
Maine, and especially Ogunquit, have played such major roles for so many notable artists over the years. As an artist with a body of work closely connected to these places, can you talk a little bit about what makes these landscapes and communities so significant?
I love the art community in Maine. The seacoast is incredibly beautiful and vibrant with such a wide variety of spots to discover and paint. The Ogunquit Museum of American Art (OMAA) is such an important institution. The museum’s collection is wonderful, featuring several exceptional Marsden Hartley paintings, including a transitional piece that bridges his Maine and European bodies of work. Their programming is vital; the lectures and the events. My wife, artist Rachael O’Shaughnessy, and I are both members; and we’re both happy to have been among those invited to paint on location at the museum. We both donated our artwork that was done on site at Perkins Cove for their Art Auction a few years back. We are also both juried members of the Ogunquit Art Association, and we’re happy to show in their group shows along with the other talented and active member artists.
I love how active you (and Rachael) are on social media. Whether it’s updates showing pieces of personal work in progress – or photos from some of the many exhibitions and art events all across New England that you two always seem to show up at – there’s always something new, thought provoking, inspiring, and colorful coming across my phone screen from your side. Has all of this social media activity you engage in played any role in the advancement of your art career?
Oh yes, the connection of artists online opens up many opportunities. For example, Rachael and I have made wonderful connections with the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, supporting their curation and participating as exhibiting artists. I’m old enough to remember when an artist had to have slides made of their work in order to show, so this era is a different world – and one of which I’m very happy to be an active part.
If you could go back to the beginning of your journey as an artist – what is the one piece of advice you’d give your former self?
Stay focused and keep a chin up during tough times.
Who are some of the artists on your radar, these days, creating noteworthy work in Maine?
I have to say there are so many artists in Maine doing strong and significant work. John Walker, Alex Katz, Katherine Bradford, and Jamie Wyeth are some of the big names; but I know so many artists who are making incredible work, and I could easily list fifty people who are dedicated to their work — and then still list more. Maine is a uniquely vital state for artists.
Where can we see (and/or buy) more of your work?
I have work available at Littlefield Gallery in Winter Harbor, Maine. This past summer I had a show at Ocean House Gallery in Cape Elizabeth and have work available through them as well. In New Hampshire I show at Art 3 in Manchester; near where I teach at the Currier Museum Of Art. In Massachusetts, I show at the Provincetown Art Association and the AMP Gallery in Provincetown. In Ogunquit, as you know, my work is available at The Ogunquit Art Association’s Barn Gallery.
Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. Any words of wisdom you can leave us with before we let you go 🙂
The world needs art in many forms and, as an artist, my main motive is to connect with other people, to open minds to seeing in new ways, and truly see creatively toward a greater world. I would urge anyone, go to museums and galleries, support the arts, and to see the ways it lifts the heart and builds a richer, more meaningful society.
Click Any Image Of John David O’Shaughnessy’s Work Below For A Larger View:
Wells Coming Storm 10×10 – John David O’Shaughnessy 
Marginal Way 18×20 – John David O’Shaughnessy 
Sun Setting Tide Shifting 18×20 – John David O’Shaughnessy 
Overcast Active Surf 18×20 – John David O’Shaughnessy 
Oarweed Cove Perkins Cove 18×18 – John David O’Shaughnessy 
Oarweed Cove Tide Shift 18×20 – John David O’Shaughnessy
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