Angles
and Light
The Art of
John Canning
By Aaron R. Fodiman
outhful looking, energetic and in his forties,
John Canning grew up in Tampa and studied
architecture in college. However, he found
his true calling as an artist. As such, he
became attracted to old architecture and
Y
vintage surroundings, particularly windows and
doors. He is continually looking for the perfect
natural light to enhance both details and shadows.
Since light fluctuates with the time of day, as well
as the time of year, he must work in a strict time
frame. While creating “The Tampa Bay Hotel,”
which was the cover art for the November/
December issue of our magazine, John spent
three months studying the light and angle that he
felt gave him the most dramatic and interesting
view of this historic landmark. Once John decided
on the view to be captured, he spent ten hours
doing a rough pencil perspective of the layout.
He then proceeded to use his unique technique of
starting in the upper left hand corner of the work
and then sketching even more detailed pencil
drawings that he covers with layer over layer of
watercolors. He continues this process as the work
flows from left to right in waves, until he completes
the bottom right corner of the painting.
Canning paints over his penciled drawings, working
from the top left-hand corner to the bottom right.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 51