TAP ROOM ART SHOW: JOHN FOYSTON

Beer Journalist Trades Pen for Paint Brush in Art Show
 

John Foyston with one of our first cans off the canning line.

When the Fort George Brewery has been in the Oregonian, the writer has been John Foyston.  Best known for being one of the top beer journalists in the Northwest—John has been writing about Oregon craft beer for 20 years—he’ll be at Fort George this month, not reporting, but showing off one of his more obscure talents, oil painting.  John’s art will be on display in the brewery’s tap room during the 2nd Saturday Art Walk October 8th 5-9 p.m. and he will be present during an artist’s reception on October 15th 4-7 p.m. (immediately following the Hoppy Holidays event).
    John was a staff writer for The Oregonian for 25 years and as a freelancer still writes and blogs his weekly column "The Beer Here" for the paper. Before he wrote professionally, he was a computer assembler, a monkey handler, a professional musician, motorcycle mechanic and shop owner. 

     John started oil painting about six years ago. Early paintings were done from reference photos, but thanks to a workshop with Oregon plein air painter, Thomas Kitts, John has been painting outside and onsite for most of the last year.  Plein air painting is a tradition going back to the French impressionists and beyond, and requires the artist to establish color and value quickly and accurately, to simplify shapes and work quickly in changing light. 
     This show includes earlier paintings and recent plein air landscapes and still life, including the series of paintings that John has been doing in the Brooklyn Rail Yard Roundhouse, home of the famous Daylight steam locomotive 4449.