John Kraft's Virtual Opening Reception

I won't tell you I have "always" liked the work of San Francisco painter John Kraft, but that's only because I wasn't aware of it until late in 2004. At that time, and on the strength of his compositions alone, I featured John as an "Artist You Should Know." He's continued to impress me over the past four years, and not merely because of his art--which, in case it's not abundantly clear, I like. A lot.

John is one of those visual artists who (1) has other interests--he makes music, for example, (2) is generally upbeat, as opposed to the stereotypical tortured artiste, (3) is genuinely happy being a husband and father, and is secure enough in his sense of self to paint about this, (4) loves to think outside the 'promotion' box and use the Internet in innovative ways, and (5) talks about his art, his working methods and the rationale for both in understandable English.

I can't really overstate any of these points, but want to draw your special attention to the last two. John just opened an exhibition of his work at Intel's worldwide corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Now, opening receptions are usually invitation-only events, and this was no exception. However, John filmed a couple of segments for those of us who couldn't be there, posted them on YouTube, and invited his mailing list to watch in (reception) real time and chat live with him via his Facebook page. I liked the results very much. If you have ever (and haven't we all?) stared down an incomprehensible artist's statement or wall text, I'm sure you'll enjoy John's videos as the breath of fresh air that they are.