THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9409290201
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Nancy McWilliams
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
``I'm really happy about this,'' John ``Possum'' Silver said about his career switch. ``I've been a builder and now I'm going to leave that behind.
``My intention is to be a starving artist.''
A Raleigh native, Silver grew up in Knightdale in a family with artistic tendencies. ``My father put himself through school with art,'' said Silver, 42. ``He was always drawing and sketching.'' As a child, Silver said, he often walked around town with hula girls drawn on his arms, courtesy of his father.
Silver's great-great aunt was an expert at coats of arms. Today, the Outer Banks artist uses many of her drawing books. ``I've always been interested in art and loved to look at art,'' he said. ``It amazes me.''
Although Silver always has been drawn to art, he has been building homes in areas such as Pirate's Cove for many years. For an entire decade, he said, he worked constantly. But in the last three years he has decided to slow down.
Silver's wife, Sheila, has always inspired him concerning art. While he was working long days at homebuilding, he often came home to a book or quote Sheila had selected for him, encouraging his artistic pursuits.
``I became disenchanted with work and I wanted to paint,'' Silver said. ``I'm a little rusty. But I'm going to get back into it.''
His goal is to turn out two paintings a week for a year and ``see what happens.'' A show is definitely a possibility.
Nature often inspires Silver to paint, he said. He begins by doing four or five sketches, choosing the best one and then painting the scene.
Silver prefers to work in watercolor because ``you get results in a few hours.'' He recently took a week-long class with Portsmouth artist Bobby Burnell. The course motivated Silver to paint more and gave him an ``I can do it'' attitude. In the past, Silver has studied with Ralph Smith, Elizabeth Haskins and Steve Andrus.
Silver's scenes of old Nags Head cottages decorated with flags and windsocks, fish houses in Manns Harbor, boats and water are refreshingly wonderful, particularly the water and skies. For him ``color is everything,'' but he limits his palette to only about seven colors and mixes whatever he needs.
Not limited to realism, Silver painted masks and a nude at a friend's request, and highlighted the painting with pen and ink afterward. The color mix has a Picasso-type feel and shows Silver's promise of diversity. ``I'll try anything,'' he said.
Next, he wants to do primitive-type paintings with watercolor, and while he now signs his work J. Silver, he plans to use his lifelong nickname of Possum as the signature on this series.
He greatly admires Picasso, Frederic Remington and local artist Glenn Eure.
Besides the outdoors, Silver said he also finds inspiration at home from his three children. ``They are continually drawing,'' he said. ``Their material is such good food for me.''
Interestingly enough, the old cottages that Silver paints are where he lived during the summers of his childhood. ``I've spent a lot of time in my life in these houses,'' he said. ``They are such good subjects.'' It was at the Winston Cottage, an 1861 beach house, that Silver learned to appreciate the ``wild skies'' of Nags Head.
He's lived in the area for 25 years, working as a commercial fisherman and then as a builder. ``I would draw no matter where I would be,'' Silver said. But he finds the Outer Banks a place of ``unlimited material.''
For him, art is simply being able to ``see what you're looking at. Most people don't take the time to look.''
``I just want to give people something to look at that is pleasing to the eye, that brings back a fond memory or the thought that the painting could brighten up someone's life,'' Silver said.
What will life be like for Silver a few years from now? He predicted he'll still be loving it. ``You've got to make a decision in life about what you're going to do,'' he said. ``Chasing money is not all it's cracked up to be.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
``My intention is to be a starving artist,'' says John Silver. His
goal is to turn out two paintings a week for a year and ``see what
happens.''
by CNB