Artist John Köehler’s Vivid Imagination Blooms in Solo Exhibit at new Virginia Beach Art Gallery
(Virginia Beach, Va., June 14, 2022) – Art director, author, indie book publisher, Boomerang World Champion. John Köehler has varied titles and interests. A gifted, lifelong artist, the long-time Virginia Beach resident is now adding two more imprints to his biography: gallery owner and award-winning artist.
Beginning this month, art enthusiasts can view the recent fruits of his creativity in his show, “Works by John Köehler Since 2018,” opening June 18 at the new Köehler Artworks in Virginia Beach, and at the artist’s digital gallery at www.KoehlerArtworks.com.
“For the past four years I have been a book publisher by day and an artist at night,” said Köehler. “I have always created art for both commercial reasons and for fun, but this was different. In early 2018 I began working in a new digital medium, and it felt as if I was on fire with a drive to create. I gave in to it completely.”
Using an Apple iPad Pro and a pressure-sensitive Apple pencil, Köehler began experimenting with the ProCreate app for digital painting. Flying angels and whimsical images of his grandchildren and pets were his first subjects. Over the next few years, he mastered the design tools, adding abstracted layering and color shifts to his ever-growing digital canvases.
By the end of 2021, Koehler had amassed an impressive—and delightfully mischievous—collection of 350 pieces of art. Friends told him they liked what they saw, and his wife Patty suggested he take his new work to the office, which had been empty since the pandemic began.
Today in this shared space with the artist’s Köehler Books publishing venture, more than 75 digital paintings adorn the gallery walls. Tapping into natural and mystical worlds, the prints feature bold and vibrant images of animals, sea life, dreamscapes, mermaids, sprites and nudes, some in spatially curious positions. Sea turtles swim in synch, dogs fly and a woodland sprite sprouts legs that look like tree trunks.
The Lynnhaven River and Chesapeake Bay are represented too, with canvases teeming with blue crabs, dolphins, osprey and other critters that are part of the watery ecosystem. Köehler grew up along the river and is familiar with the animals that live there. A portion of the sales from this series and another highlighting endangered species will benefit the Lynnhaven River NOW nonprofit, which works to restore and protect the river’s waterways and environments, as well as The World Wildlife Fund, Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Virginia Beach SPCA.
The launch of Köehler Artworks comes at a meaningful time for the artist. Recently, judges with the Virginia Beach Arts Center selected two of his works to display in its H2O National Show, June 3-26. Several of his prints have been shown at local shows, where they have won awards and sold. A zebra print is currently on display at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art).
Artwork from Köehler’s “Apple period” is now available for viewing online and by appointment at Köehler Artworks. For details visit www.KoehlerArtworks.com.
About the Artist
A gifted artist since he was a child, John Köehler’s work has crossed the spectrum of pen and ink, watercolor, advertising, graphic design, photo-retouching, illustration, and digital painting. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth’s art program in 1980, he went on to graduate studies at George Washington University. After spending 12 years at various Washington, D.C. area ad agencies working as an art director, John started his own graphic design firm, Köehler Studios, in 1994. When he sold that firm in 2010, he formed Köehler Books, a publishing company. He also worked as director of Younglife Capernaum, a ministry for kids with disabilities. He is a member of the Bürpenfärtzen Brothers (for explanation, ask John) and is the 1991 Boomerang World Champ.
High-resolution images of John Köehler’s work are available at this link.