Cole John

Year of birth: 1997.
Where do you live: Toronto, ON Canada.
Your education: Diploma in Business Marketing Administration.
Self taught artist.
Instagram

Your project statement emphasizes that “art saves lives.” Can you explain what this means to you personally and how it translates into your work?

Art, no matter the form has the capability to be the ultimate expression of emotion. It is a pure outlet. Art is a necessary distraction that can ease the mind, make you ask questions and give you answers. 

You’ve explored several different styles and mediums. How do you choose which medium to work with for a specific piece?

I usually just know. If I draw a sketch of something that I want to become a painting, I already see it how I want it to be. If I envision something very simple, I’ll probably do it the easiest way, digitally, and just print it out large scale. 

Cole John | Dead of Winter | 2020

Your work appears to move between realism and abstraction. Can you talk about the process behind creating works like “Dead of Winter” and “Midnight Lane”?

For majority of my paintings actually, I start with several rough drafts of messy, I guess, preliminary studies. Nothing to in-depth. For Dead of Winter and Midnight Lane, I started with a tree trunk and so on, no wash or anything. I painted the first layer more of a melted version of itself. 

Nature and organic forms seem to be present in much of your work. What role does nature play in your art, and why is it so central to your practice?

Our environment is so important to our growth and mental state; even indoors. Nature, like our mind, is inescapable. 

Cole John | Flower | 2025

The use of both acrylic paints and black ink in your artwork is quite striking. What draws you to these materials, and how do you decide when to use one over the other?

Like photography somethings just look better in black and white. Black is such a rebellious colour to paint or draw in, you know, to make a final piece in only black says something. And to make a final piece in colour, says something else.  

How has your early career influenced the direction of your art today, and are there any specific artists or movements that have inspired you?

I’d say, my art is more influenced by my life; where I’m at and how I’m feeling. If anything, my early career, like life, allows me to look back and know what to do and what not to do, what I like and what I don’t like. 

Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh have been a major inspiration, but there’s definitely more people who have inspired me. In other works, I haven’t shown the public yet, you would see a new side of my practice. Andy Warhol has become a big figure to me for his genius in pop art and personal branding. 

Cole John | Midnight Lane | 2017

Can you share more about your experience with digital art and how it complements or contrasts with your traditional practices in acrylic and ink?

Digital art (not A.I) is kind of the opposite of my traditional paintings. I look at it differently, like knowing it’s computer generated is one thing and it’s almost a mockery of literal painting.