Landscapes Collection

For more than 20 years, John has drawn his main inspiration from the natural environment, painting landscapes that combine Impressionist vision with attention to detail. This is John's most extensive collection, most of which is based in the Organ Mountains and surrounding areas of Doña Ana County. Earlier works in the series focus on the technical aspects of each painting, striving to represent reality as accurately as possible. More recent additions continue in this vein, but also feature hidden secondaries featuring John’s unique vertical drilling technique.

All About the River

OIL CANVAS - 2021

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'Starting in early '21, I created a series of seven pictures of the Organ Mountains for a private exhibition. Each canvas had to be unique, so I varied the season, time of day, and painting style, while still focusing on the composite view of the Rio Grande with the Organs in the background. Actually, this first picture is a semi-complete version of La Salida del Sol, because I later changed my mind and made some alterations. At this point I’d painted the sunrise sky, but deliberately hidden the sun behind the horizon and added some linseed to the oil to create a watercolor effect that gives the lines of the mountains a sense of mystery. In the foreground, I stuck to my normal style to emphasize the contrast of detail you see at this time of day, and if you look into the river, you'll see the ghost of La Llorona sinking into the water as she retreats towards her daytime slumber.' - JDP

The Coast

OIL CANVAS - 2017

Original Dimensions: 36"x48"

'So far this is the only ocean painting I've created, although I plan to do more in the future. Artists like Turner have been able to capture so many things inspired by the sea but living in New Mexico it’s not exactly around the corner. So, I took some pictures of the ocean and waves and put them together with the sunset from a picture my friend took at Elephant Butte Lake. That way it’s got a local element despite the lack of a coastline. Obviously, I'm very happy with the result, especially the detail of the foam on the waves and the complex coloration of the sky. Other people have commented about character in the bottom right saying they 'like the fisherman'. However, it’s actually a couple locked in an embrace. What people think is a rope hanging round the fisherman’s neck is in fact the woman’s hair, and if you look closer you can see her arm coming round his back, and her leg stretched out along the line of the rocks.' - JDP

Summer View #2

OIL CANVAS - 2021

Original Dimensions: 40"x30"

'Like the other works in the Organ Mountains collection, the second Summer View painting builds on the variations I developed throughout the series. For this one I stayed with the brighter color scheme I used on Summer View #1 but stuck more closely to my traditional detail-orientated style for the landscape. On the blacklight side I wanted to go into a deeper understanding of the hidden reality that exists at the limits of human perception. First, I added a ghost train on the riverbank, and some Kokopelli playing their flutes with the score floated above the water. However, when I was done, I felt it was too busy, so I toned down some of these elements to make them more subtle. Overall, this is one of my favorite pieces, from the details of the reflections in the water to the Kokopelli celebrating their domain over agriculture, this canvas creates a perfect synchronicity showing the beauty and harmony of our world.' - JDP

A composite print showing both sides of the canvas is available in the Bicameral Collection

La Salida del Sol

OIL CANVAS - 2021

Original Dimensions: 36"x48"

'La Salida del Sol (originally titled Organ Sunrise), is my personal favorite of the Organ Mountains collection, albeit frustrating at times because certain elements didn't fit the vision I was striving to achieve. Originally, the painting had an ethereal quality, with the spirit of La Llorona hidden in the river, but the addition of the sun rays creeping over the ridge changed the feel of the picture, and since that was an element I was particularly satisfied with, I was forced to give up some of my initial plans to create consistency. I was then able to introduce other elements, such as linking the number of trees to the Fibinacci sequence and hiding the New Mexico State logo in the field. One the blacklight side my goal was to create a mirror image in which the sun was replaced by the arrival of a harvest moon, a feature that worked especially well in the Bicameral composite that Andy put together. In the end I was reluctant to sell the finished version, although it found a great home with a buyer who ultimately chose to rename it.' - JDP

A composite print showing both sides of the canvas is available in the Bicameral Collection

Salopek Grove

OIL CANVAS - 2022

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'The painting of the pecan orchard at Salopek Grove is a private work commissioned by the family that owns the grove. Salopek is one of the larger orchards in town and they’ve been long-time friends and admirers of my work. They initially gave me a photo as a starting point, but at the time we agreed it would be best to combine some key features of my other works to get the right result. First, I decided to set the image in summer instead of winter so I could use a brighter color scheme. I then used my compositing technique to establish the framing of the mountains and trees and depicted the grove during an irrigation flood (similar to Dog Leg Right). Finally, I added some Hidden in Plain Sight elements to the clouds, with the usual blend of intentional insertions and accentuated pareidolias. The dog, the lady, and the wookie were deliberately added and are relatively easy to spot, however other people are convinced there’s an Owl / Eagle, the outline of Mount Rushmore, and the character Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy!' - JDP

Winter View

OIL CANVAS - 2021

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'It’s not a common sight to see the mountains covered in snow, maybe it happens once every two or three years, but when it comes its truly spectacular. Again, as part of the Organ Mountains series I wanted to make every picture unique, so going back to a photo I took a couple of winters before made perfect sense. Interestingly enough, this was also the first canvas to sell during the showing for that series, and it’s easy to see why. I’m especially pleased with the level of detail and accuracy of the colors here, with the work on the vegetation, the mountains, and the sky combining to convey a tangible sense of winter’s chill. I was also really happy with the blacklight side, with traces of nebulas amongst the stars perfectly hidden on the daylight side. This one was also selected to be part of the Bicameral Collection, with a composite that fully captures the majesty of both sides.' - JDP

What a View

OIL CANVAS - 2000

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'What a View was my first attempt at painting the Organ Mountains, and even though it's over 20 years old, it's still one of my most popular prints. Originally, I just went out to the yard to paint the view across the valley, but my friends and family were really impressed and said it was good enough to sell. Soon after I managed to display it at a local gallery and was delighted when it sold within an hour. At that moment I realized becoming a full-time artist was a realistic goal, and steadily increased the amount of time I dedicated to it. From a technical standpoint there’s not much to say, since I did this for fun and didn’t have any specific objectives in mind. However, it still sits well with my recent work, and with the detail, contrast, and color palette, it's easy to see the precursors of the various techniques I later developed. In a way this work also inspired my Hidden in Plain Sight style. Personally, I’ve always seen an Elephant’s and a Cow’s head in the hills, but with others pointing out things such as a Shark’s mouth, a hiding Bigfoot, and a weird kind of space jellyfish it struck me that I could continue exploring this idea, and consciously embed them in my future work.' - JDP

More Than Meets the Eye

OIL CANVAS - 2020

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'One thing I really like about this painting is that’s it very realistic in terms of how the view looks with the naked eye. A lot of the time I intentionally create composites so I can focus on a specific aspect of the landscape, but in reality the view from the west side of Las Cruces is actually much flatter, with the mountains taking up a lower percentage of the horizon. Ultimately there’s only two or three pictures my entire collection that show this perspective, so that makes this one somewhat unique. Interestingly it’s also the only one where I actively removed the blacklight side. It was one of my first experiments with the technique, and honestly, I got it all wrong, so I took my regular oils and erased it. Ironically, blending with the previous layers caused the fresh oil to flow more than normal and it produced a watercolor effect that ended up looking really nice, contrasting the haze in the distance with the detail of the shallow focus in the middle.' - JDP

Typical Sunset

OIL CANVAS - 2019

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'As with More Than Meets the Eye this canvas takes on a wider perspective on the valley, albeit slightly zoomed in to increase the prominence of Tortugas Mountain (the “A” Hill). Part of the reason I did this was so that I could feature the annual candle-lit procession on the blacklight side. Every year as part of the Our Lady of Guadalupe festival pilgrims hold a night-time vigil, hiking to the top in commemoration of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to San Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill. It’s a key date in the Las Cruces calendar, and one I was eager to pay tribute to. Overall, I was particularly pleased with this canvas, as I felt I’d achieved a new level in the application of the neon oils – progressing from early experimentation to an autonomous stage, where I was able to conceive and implement more complicated and harmonious designs.' - JDP

Organ Poppies

OIL CANVAS - 2017

Original Dimensions: 36"x48"

'The painting of the poppies on Baylor Canyon Road was originally commissioned by the wife of an old friend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Every year, the fields are filled with thousands of Mexican Golden Poppies, and people often go there to take photos or have a romantic stroll among the flowers. Overall, it was a pretty straightforward piece, based on a photo they’d taken a few years earlier. I really wanted to make it as realistic as possible, so I spent a lot of time focusing on the details of the ridgeline as the last rays of sunlight cast an orange glow onto the peaks. Finally, I wanted to add a personal touch for my friends, so I drew in a couple of wine flutes disguised amongst the poppies, toasting the longevity their marriage.' - JDP

Bluetail's Perspective

OIL CANVAS - 2017

Original Dimensions: 40"x30"

'I remember waking up one day and wondering about how things would look if I was an animal, so I decided to do a painting based around this idea. The New Mexico Whiptail is the official state reptile, and since it’s pretty common round here it made an obvious choice to select. In the end I decided to step back a bit so you could see the lizard in the foreground instead of drawing straight from its eyes. However, when you're looking at the full size canvas it's easy to dive in and imagine yourself in its place gazing out at the valley. Obviously, humans and animals perceive light differently, so I changed the palette to make it super blue and created a polarized lens effect that would bring out the color of the vegetation and accentuate the contours of the clouds. In my opinion the result was fantastic, and it really does feel as if you’re wearing sunglasses when you look at it. It’s definitely a style want to keep exploring in the next couple of years, although I still haven’t quite managed to match the blue mix, despite numerous efforts to replicate it.' - JDP

Yucca Sunrise

OIL CANVAS - 2023

Original Dimensions: 36"x30"

'The painting of the sunrise with the Yucca was a commission for a good friend who used to live close to me in Las Cruces. She moved out of state a few years ago and wanted to remember the landscape she left behind. The painting itself is based on a photo I took from my backyard in early summer, with the orange skies above the Organs contrasting the whites of the yucca in the foreground. It's more impressionistic than some of my other works, as the sunrise simultaneously illuminated the green of the mesquite behind the house, while also creating a sort of purple mist over the mountains. Overall, I felt this added to the mystery of the piece, emphasized the serenity of the southwestern landscape, and gave my friend the memory that she wanted to recreate.' - JDP

Summer View #1

OIL CANVAS - 2021

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'As I continued developing the Organs series, I wanted to expand the range of options on the blacklight side. Using bright pastel colors on the primary image allowed me to be more aggressive on the secondary, creating a more vibrant contrast than my previous efforts. For the mountains I used a slightly abstract style so I could bring out the cow and the elephant head and added green highlights to the trees that really pop under the UV. I kind of went to town on the quantity of stars, using a similar green, creating a final blacklight that combines the aesthetic of a winter lights festival with the joy of a warm summer evening.' - JDP

Hay Bales

OIL CANVAS - 2017

Original Dimensions: 36"x30"

'Throughout the year the view from my back yard is constantly changing, and I’d often thought about creating a canvas that showcased the contrasting vegetation, from the mesquite and river grasses to the fields and the pecan groves. That year they were harvesting Alfalfa, so the drying bales made a perfect subject for the foreground. I also wanted to try a new style, so I added more linseed oil to the paints, and threw a touch of Gesso onto the canvas. Overall, this created a kind of watercolor effect, with the outline of the mountains reflecting a hazy pink in the sunset, and the shadows of the bales stretching out across the field.' - JDP

Electric Organs

OIL CANVAS - 2021

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'This was the final instalment of the Organ Mountain series. As with some of my other works it’s a composite focused on the reflection in the river, with the unique element provided by the lightning storm. As this was my first attempt at painting electricity, I wasn’t completely confident, and in a way I’m happier with the way it looks in the reflection than the main part above the hills. Probably my favorite part of this piece is the way the clouds and the clear sky invert between the two sides. One the daylight side the supercell is an angry purple with a blue layer showing clear sky coming into view just above the mountains. On the blacklight side these are reversed, with the purple giving way to a starry sky, and the blue layer now creating the impression of a new storm gathering in the distance.' - JDP

6th Hole

OIL CANVAS + NEON - 2021

Original Dimensions: 48"x24"

'The painting of the signature hole on the NMSU golf course was a simple one created as I was continuing my experiments with the neon. I really wanted to properly embed a hidden element on the blacklight, so I used the cut of the green to implant the New Mexico symbol. I also wanted to create a moonlight effect, using the neon to bring out the coy carp in the lake, and a pink pastel to highlight the mountains. For me the best part of this ended up being the sky and the stars. The bright white on the daylight side gives way to a light silver that really makes it look like the cloud is being lit by a moon that’s just off to the side of the canvas.' - JDP