Page 4 / Sunday, May 22, 2011 Tallahassee Democrat / TLH

Electrician turned painter brushes on vivid colorJohn Metcalfe has

always been creative. A professional electrician for 25 years, even his electrical work reflects his artistic spirit.

“I’ve had inspec-tors saying to me that my electrical instal-lations are beautiful to look at,” he laughs. “One said, ‘Most people just run spaghetti but you’ve created art.’ ”

Metcalfe stud-ied architectural and mechanical drafting in high school, but never pursued it as a profes-

sion. He played guitar and bass semi-profes-sionally for a number of years, but didn’t feel like he had the excep-tional musical talent needed to make it in the industry.

About 10 years ago, ever on the lookout for a creative outlet, he taught himself how to paint. He always had a natural talent for draw-ing, he says, and his

drafting studies devel-oped his eye for per-spective and color.

“As a kid, I did lots of figural work and I enjoyed drawing mon-sters,” says Metcal-fe. “My mother was a big horror fan and my monster drawings were always on the fridge.”

Now he paints abstract landscapes. His paintings have been described to him as “what would have happened if Monet met Jackson Pollock.” Metcalfe uses what is known as a “fauve” col-or palette, from an ear-ly 20th-century artis-tic movement known for emphasizing strong colors rather than real-ism.

“A dog doesn’t have to be brown and white — it can be a blue dog or a pink dog,” explains Metcalfe. “Trees don’t have to be green, and water doesn’t have to be blue.”

“I had an art profes-sor come in once and ask what compelled me to put those colors together,” remembers Metcalfe. “He recog-nized that those par-ticular colors don’t tra-ditionally work well together, but he was surprised to see that, in this instance, they did work. I don’t know why I did it that way. To me, it was just what that the piece needed.”

Metcalfe considers himself to have more of a skill than a talent, and that skill allows him to see each color in the painting separately.

“I look at the can-vas and think, ‘That purple bit needs to be orange’ or ‘I need to add a green dot right there,’ ” he explains. “I know a painting is done when there’s noth-ing that bothers me. If something bothers me, I keep painting.”

Metcalfe started sell-

ing his work almost immediately after he started painting.

“The first hundred paintings weren’t that good, but people bought them anyway,” says Metcalfe. “I’ve been really lucky as an art-ist.”

Metcalfe is also an astute business person, and was quick to start

selling his paintings on eBay. He has sold his work to buyers in Ire-land, Israel, Canada, Nigeria and all over the U.S.

“When I sold my first painting on eBay it went for about $300 and I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I sold 70 paintings in three months.”

One collector from St. Louis buys a paint-ing from Metcalfe every year, because she is certain his work will someday be in muse-ums.

“By now she has 18 or 20 of my paintings for sure,” he says. “We send emails to each other, and she updates me on her health and tells me about her kids. She’s become a virtual part

By Randi Atwoodspecial to the democrat

John Metcalfe started selling his work on eBay with great success.

“Confetti Grove” by John Metcalfe will be on display at the Artport Gallery.

If you GoWhat: “impression

of a moment: paint-ings by John e. met-calfe,” part of the city of tallahassee’s art in public places programWhen: Wednesday

through July 25 Where: artport Gal-

lery, tallahassee regional airportContact: call coca

at 224-2500 or visit www.cocanet.org

See ARTIST, pAGE 5 /TLH

DIAMONDS

3501 Thomasville Rd(850) 893-4171

www.gemcollection.com

Jewelry • DiamondsFine Gems

TD-0000175539

TLH / Tallahassee Democrat Sunday, May 22, 2011 / Page 5

of my family. About six years ago,

Metcalfe’s wife’s job brought them from Sarasota to Tallahas-see, and instead of find-ing a job here as an electrician, he took a chance and started a full-time art career.

“We sold our house

at the right time and made some money,” says Metcalfe. “I decid-ed that this could be the only opportunity I would ever have to open a gallery. I bought a space in Havana and remodeled it.”

Metcalfe signs all his work with his ini-tials, J.E.M. — for John Edward Metcal-fe — and once he over-heard someone look at

his painting of his and say, “It’s a JEM.” That’s what he named his gal-lery: “It’s a JEM Fine Art.” The gallery sells his work and the work of other artists, and he also rents space to antiques vendors.

In June and July, for what is the 10th anni-versary of this self-taught painter’s begin-nings, his work will be displayed in a solo

exhibit at the Artport Gallery at Tallahassee Regional Airport. Met-calfe says that having this exhibit may be the proudest moment in his art career to date.

“I get young artists in to my gallery all the time, and I tell them all the same thing: have no fear. Show your work,” he says. “If you love it, someone else is going to love it, too.”

ARTISTFrom Page 4 / TLH

County’s Vince Long chases words, loves musicA few artful ques-

tions for incoming Leon County Adminis-trator Vince Long.

Q: Can you play a musical instrument?

A: To borrow and butcher a quote from John Adams, I studied politics so that my sons (and daughters) might study art and music. I cannot play a musi-cal instrument (unless a really bad harmoni-ca counts), but I have a deep love and apprecia-tion for many different types of music. My iPod looks like it is shared by a group of strangers. My wife and I encour-age all of our three chil-dren to play an instru-ment.

Q: Do you own any original art?

A: My wife and I have talked for years about our desire to own more original art. We love the (Florida) Highway-men and local artists’ paintings of Charlotte Harbor, where my wife is from (and where she comes from a long line of fishermen). We have

plans to own local art-ists Steve Andrews and Lance de Haven-Smith (one of my dear friends).

Unfortunately for us, it’s been all kid stuff for the last decade, but we’re looking forward

to growing up soon.Q: What was the

first concert you ever attended?

A: As a young kid, I lived in New York City. I can’t remember the first one, but we were big fans of the free con-cert series in Central Park. One of my earli-est recollections was being blown away by Tony Bennett.

Q: What book is on your nightstand right now?

A: “Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?” by Seth Godin.

Q: When was the last time you danced?

A: Two weeks ago, when the Lakers were swept in the playoffs.

Q: What was the last live perfor-

mance you saw? A: I recently saw

my 5-year-old daugh-ter, Riley, in a play at Young Actors Theatre. She has another one this week, and I’ll be in the front row.

Q: What movie has most affected you?

A: “How Green Was My Valley” (1941). It really affected me as a young child because of the powerful storyline of the hardworking par-ents (Welsh miners) and their hopes that their children would have a better life. I try to watch it once a year. It still moves me.

Q: What was the last thing you made by hand?

A: A pinewood derby

car for my sons’ Cub Scout den. (I mean, they made it on their own.)

Q: When was the last time you were on a stage?

A: I played the lead as Christopher Colum-bus in a fourth-grade play and it’s been all downhill since. Actual-ly, I was in a stand-up comedy charity event on May 11.

Q: What artistic talent do you wish you had?

A: I think the writ-ten and spoken word have the power to cap-ture the imagination in beautiful and meaning-ful ways. That’s a tal-ent that I chase every day.

special to the democrat

MIKE EWEN/democratVince Long is the current deputy county administrator for Leon County.

CONTACT COCAVisit coca’s web-

sites at www.cocanet.org and www.more-thanyouthought.com. send suggestions for artist profiles, news items, story ideas or fun facts to coca at cultural@cocanet.org.

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