John Odell’s paintings capture the wild beauty of untouched nature at many of our national parks and reserves. As a resident of St. Louis, John draws inspiration from the Shaw Nature Reserve and the Missouri Botanical Gardens where both sites serve as rich sources of artistic expression and a constant focus in his work.
John was born in St. Louis in 1949 and attended Washington University in St. Louis. He has worked as a fine artist since 1975. Odell works exclusively in acrylics, with the exception of his popular watercolor house portraits. Primarily a landscape painter, the quick-drying properties of acrylics are ideal for his dry-brush impressionistic style, as well as for his more detailed wildlife images.
In 1996 his painting “Rainbow Falls: The Great Smokey Mountains” was included in the Top 100 finalists – out of over 3200 entries – in the National Park Academy of the Arts “Arts for the Parks” competition in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Painting was featured in the National Parks collector?s edition of its Top 100 and toured the country with a traveling exhibit.
Odell has had four one-man shows at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. An upcoming Odell show will feature his landscapes at McCaughen and Burr Fine Arts in Webster Groves, Missouri, where he is exclusively represented.
