Artist Bio
John Osgood is an urban contemporary artist and muralist who
grew up in Edmonds, Washington. He graduated with a BA from WSU
with a minor in Fine Arts.
He is a 2008 Artist Trust Edge Graduate; was selected in 2009 by
the Arts Council of Snohomish County as their poster artist for
their annual “Fresh Paint” art festival and also a selected
artist in 2009 for the Bremerton Arts Commission for their
public art banner project.
Osgood paints idiosyncratic characters with a bold palette in a
graffiti art style. His collection of colorful & odd characters
are inspired by life and the uncomfortable, forlorn and many
times humorous circumstances that happen within it. Osgood was
recently recognized in a feature story in the Seattle Times for
his mural work (along with 2 other artists) on a
transformational memorial mural in Greenwood after the
neighborhood was targeted by an arsonist. The arson mural is a
good example of how he uses heartbreaking situations and turns
them into a work of art. He currently has a studio and gallery
in Seattle called
Bherd Studios in the
Greenwood neighborhood where he curates shows monthly for other
up and coming PNW contemporary artists.
Artist Statement
I paint to express human emotion
whether it is humorous, depressing or inspiring. I am very
process oriented: I throw, drip, block and layer paint. I never
know what I am going to get when I begin– I am always waiting to
see what is forming before I decide to refine the painting. I
may turn the painting from side to side multiple times before I
can see the next step. I use vibrant contrasting color palettes
to illicit a “pop” factor. I believe that colors pull people
into my paintings and I often juxtapose bright vivid color with
depressing emotions to provide balance and to surprise the
viewer.
