Who the Hell is KILROY?

      
         
 

 

John Michael Kilroy

graduated from The Art Institute of Boston
where he studied with Norman Baer and Walter Marks.

Both these brilliant teachers had a deep historical connection to the Brandywine School and American Illustration, as they were both students of Harvey Dunn, a Howard Pyle student. Early influences on Kilroy were all the great artists involved with the Famous Artists School.


He studied figure and landscape painting privately for 10 years with color master Robert Bliss, who was a student of Carolyn Wyeth.


Kilroy is especially influenced by the teaching and art of modern master Richard Schmid, whose brilliant, adaptive, grand manner, alla-prima painting techniques and philosophy
Kilroy took to heart.

 
 
 
John is a member of
Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik painting group
The Putney Painters.
  


He was also inspired to become a painter because of a small group of Taos/Denver artists active collectively in the 1970's. Among this group including Ned Jacob, William E. Sharer, Mark Daily, Len Chmiel, and George Carlson that really influenced Kilroy to open up to the idea of contemporary "Fine Art" impressionistic realism as a personal direction.


Particularly influential is also San Diego artist John Asaro who gave Kilroy the knowledge of seeing light, color and the working understanding of sculptural form.  Special thanks goes to Washington State artist Bill Reese who, in the mid-eighties, got Kilroy to work outdoors, en plein-aire and taught him the essentials of the small sketch and continues to inspire with his excellence, integrity and generosity of spirit.

 
       
 
   
       
 
At the public unveiling of Richard Schmid's "Alla-Prima"® brand of double-absorbent, archival Belgian Paper Towels.
   
       
       
 
   
 
Kilroy caught attempting to steal some greatness from the
Always Amazing
Wm. F. Reese.  October 2005
   
 
       
 
 
His major historic influences include such masters as
Joaquin Sorolla, Anders Zorn, John Singer Sargent,
Valentin Serov, Ilya Repin, Nicolai Fechin,
to name a few.
 
         

The essence of his artistic and teaching philosophy focuses on the "Live" experience and he incorporates accuracy of perception, combined with direct techniques in all media including music. Clear communication and design are essential as he stresses the effects of light on the subject. Executed both indoors and out, the main emphasis is on identifying the significant visual elements of color and structure translated through the particular media of the moment.
This combined with classical, academic and abstract fundamentals of design, drawing, painting and sculpture form the visual language of the modern as well as the "old masters".

John Kilroy advocates working from life, capturing the essence in his revealing  portraits. Like many painters before him, he feels that every portrait, figure, still life or landscape offers the opportunity to evoke feelings of beauty, awe, reverence and character while maintaining the historic technical integrity of this distinguished craft. He has found over the years that his most successful works are those done directly from life and takes pleasure in passing on his reverence for art, "reality" and life to his students.

  



John Kilroy is a dedicated and popular teacher,
his methods reflect the strong sense of
responsibility he feels to pass on and improve
what he has learned from his perception,
studies, work and his artist colleagues.


 
 

Be Seeing
Yu!
  
He has years of teaching experience and has developed a number of programs through the years at numerous art associations, North River Art Society, Braintree Art Association, Quincy Art Association.  He has taught at The Cape Cod School of Art, Provincetown, MA for many years before the unfortunate demise of the school.  Most recently, John has built an extensive weekly program at the Fuller Craft Museum incorporating all aspects of the craft of art; design, drawing, painting and sculpture. The Fuller Craft Museum will no longer be hosting any weekly classes of any kind. The base of John's teaching is now residing at the E. T. Wright Building in Rockland, MA, where he has opened The John Kilroy Fine Art Academy and continues to teach both the beginner as well as the serious professional artist. The Eliot School of Arts and Crafts, (the oldest arts and crafts school in the country) hosts a weekly class throught the year featring John's direct painting/alla prima approach. Also, he continues to teach very successful national workshops at such distinguish venues as The Scottsdale Artists School, Scottsdale, Arizona and The Lyme Art Association, Lyme, Connecticut. Other venues also include Cape Cod Art Association, Barnstable, Massachusetts, Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island, The Creative Art Center, Chatham, Massachusetts and The Falmouth Artists Guild, Falmouth, Massachusetts. His works have appeared in American Artist Magazine.