My interest in painting has always been in realism. The world around me has provided an infinite variety of colors, forms and textures that I have used for the sources of my work for the past 30 years. I have always had a preference for drawing rather than painting in terms of control and the use of line and detail. Watercolor has provided me with a medium that produces a transition from drawing into a painting format. Regardless of the hyper realistic quality of the painting, the surface still maintains the painterly quality of the watercolor medium. I believe in a traditional approach to the medium, using transparent colors and the white ground of the paper to produces luminous colors, and a pigment interaction that creates hues that give a lifelike quality to the painting. From the initial viewing distance the painting may look smooth and sharp focused, but upon a closer inspection of the surface the viewer can appreciate the paint application and the artistic decisions I have made.

            I have explored a variety of subject sources in my paintings, some more traditional, others less so. A large  body of work is derived form my interest in visual Americana, that is images that I feel are specific to our culture. I have chosen still life imagery to interpret this vision, focusing on the everyday events of my life. The interest is in the commonplace has always been an important element in my work as well as nostalgic elements; influences derived from a more reflective view of my past and present. These works are composed to bring the viewer actively into the work. The arrangements are informal and are arranged as if the viewer has just interrupted something that has happened or is about to happen in. I like to include patterns and printed materials and objects that reflect an intense light I find most appealing for the compositions. The idea of human presence nearby the scene introduces narrative elements into the work. I hope to draw the viewer into the scene, in a sense becoming a participant and thereby more involved in the work.

            I have also chosen to explore the patterns and textures of nature as a subject source in my works. I prefer compositions that are abstracted, with varied angles of view that create patterns and movements throughout the work. The scale is larger than life to bring the viewer into the world of the microcosm and to see nature from an entirely different point of  view.          

            I like to vary the size of my paintings and sometimes work on an elephant size 30" x 40" size Arches 5551b rag watercolor paper as well as standard size 30"x 22" 3001b sheets and 22"x 15" half sheets. I also work in a smaller format on occasion depending on the subject and composition. I am careful to work with permanent pigmented watercolor paint to insure the archival quality of my work and in presentation use archival backing and matting materials. For some selected images, I chose to supervise production of limited edition giclee prints. Any series of these prints are limited to 300 per image and are produced with Epson permanent light fast inks on acid free archival watercolor paper. I supervise all of the color correction and printing to meet my standards for matching each to the original painting .

John Bayalis has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout the United States and has traveled extensively in Ireland, England and France. Among his honors are an award of an individual artist’s fellowship grant and the selection for The Watercolor Page in AMERICAN ARTIST  magazine where one of his works graced the cover. The artist’s works are included in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.