IN MEMORIUM.
John Lofgreen died in obscurity sometime around 1996. He decided to die because he heard that artists become more famous after they are dead, and he wanted to cash in on some of that. Being dead has not stopped him from painting. In fact, people who knew John say that he has produced some of his best work, post mortem.
The stork dropped him in Mesa, Arizona, but he grew up mostly in southern California. In Kindergarten John painted a Bald Eagle in flight, with snow capped mountains in the background, all from memory. That painting caught his teacher's attention and she showed it to the school principle. He took it to a university art professor who met with John's parents. He advised them to encourage John with art supplies, but avoid giving him structured lessions. This is the course that his parents followed.
Art and animals were always his main interests. He tried to make a pet out of any animal he could subdue. After high school John volunteered at the Santa Barbara Zoo, washed dishes at night, and painted whenever he could find some time. He served a mission for the LDS church in Mexico for two years.
That is where he developed maturity and self confidence. He gained a deep appreciation fot the culture, food, and history of the Mexican people. He was also very impressed by the myriad of tropical birds that he saw there. The seeds of a birder were planted.
Afterward John moved to Lakeside Arizona, and began establishing his career as a wildlife artist. This proved to be less lucrative than he had anticipated so John supplemented his income by doing commercial art, and conducting wildlife surveys for various government agencies.
John was the field trip chairman for the Timber Mesa, and later Anchorage Audubon Societies. He birded in Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Thailand, and Cambodia. Over the years, he has volunteered for various conservation organizations, and donated much of his artwork for good causes.
Just about a year after his death, John moved to Eagle River Alaska, because he would decompose more slowly in a cold climate. Alaska is where John's artwork has really blossomed. He sells his paintings in the finer art galleries in Alaska, and elsewhere. He has had many of his images published as prints, calendars, stamps, posters, t-shirts, tins etc. They have appeared all over the United States, Canada and Jupiter. Celebrities, business leaders, banks, professionals, dictators, pirates and bad golfers have become collectors of John's original paintings. John invites you to get one of his paintings before his arms rot off, and it's too late.