THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC

Sunday, March 24, 1991

John Farnsworth: Painter

HOOKED ON PAINTING

By Eileen bailey

Special for the Arizona republic

AGE: 50

BEST KNOWN FOR:

Being respected and collected by other artists, and for Stage, a 22- by 28- foot mural in oils commissioned by Wells Fargo Bank, now part of the permanent collection of Sky Harbor International Airport's Terminal 3.

BACKGROUND:

Born in Williams, he has lived in Happy Jack, Ash Fork, Winslow, Flagstaff, Blue River, Wickenburg, Cottonwood, Sedona And Upper Greasewood on the Navajo Reservation. Has had no formal art training.

"Mom was born in Taos, and when I was 9, we went to visit. They kept losing me, because I kept popping into the galleries. I remember seeing a man talking to another man about a painting in one gallery, and I knew then that he was the artist, and that I was, too. Click, like a light bulb. Took me about 20 years before I could paint full-time. That was 1968, and I haven't held an honest job since."

ARTISTS HE ADMIRES:

"Got a week? OK -- Sargent, Homer, Hopper, O'Keeffe, Dixon, Bellows, Gramatky, Kosa, Mason, Butterfield. I like anybody who's good."

LOWEST PRICE EVER RECEIVED FOR HIS WORK:

"I did some drawings about 1961 and put them in Buck Saunders' Trading Post, in Scottsdale, with a little sign, "Your choice, $7.50.' Two or three of them finally sold. I think Buck bought them."

READS:

Voraciously, "mostly fly- fishing magazines and art books. And people like John Gierach, George Kennan, Christina Dodwell, J.M. Cootsee and William Wharton. I haunt book sales. You find some real gems; I hardly ever pay full price for a book."

SMARTEST THING HE EVER DID:

Marrying Thea. I'd run away with her if I hadn't already."

FAVORITE FOOD:

"Anything Thea cooks. And Mongolian barbecue and Salvadoran food. Or trout just pulled from a stream. Of course, catch-and-release is the thing these days. I do better than that, I don't even catch them, I just make them go around my hook."

DRIVES:

A Volkswagen bus, "our home away from home, the Bed Bug."

THINKS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN ART IS:

"Artists. Too much celebrity mentality, not enough people just doing the best job they can."

RELAXES BY:

Fly-fishing and tying flies. "It's relaxing, challenging, and there's always something to learn. And there's a camaraderie like there is among painter. Fly-fishermen are constantly innovating and sharing what they've learned. I tell you what. I'd rather fish than drink. I'd never take another drink if I had to choose between fishing and drinking. Fortunately, I'll never have to make that choice."

John Farnsworth: "I DID SOME DRAWINGS ABOUT 1961, AND PUT THEM IN BUCK SAUNDERS' TRADING POST IN SCOTTSDALE WITH A LITTLE SIGN, 'YOUR CHOICE, $7.50.' TWO OR THREE OF THEM FINALLY SOLD. I THINK BUCK BOUGHT THEM."

ART YOU CAN LIVE WITH

ARIZONA REPUBLIC Article