John Pirman’s digitally drawn art began to develop as he earned a BFA in graphic design and illustration at Kent State University. After graduating, he studied with the great Paul Rand in Switzerland, all before making his way to New York City to begin a career as a freelance illustrator in 1979. His successful run there included editorial work for some of the country’s most popular magazines, including Vogue, Travel & Leisure, and Forbes, and advertisements that promoted reruns of acclaimed television series like Mary Tyler Moore and I Love Lucy. He left Manhattan for Florida in 2008, lured to Sarasota by the area’s beauty and light.
“After 33 years of living in New York, I moved into a 1948 home on Siesta Key designed by Paul Rudolph and learned about the Sarasota School of Architecture, which was a huge inspiration and a life-changing experience,” says Pirman. “Sarasota’s architecture plays such an important role in the subject matter of my art because of its interesting geometry and design. It’s one of the reasons I came to live here.”
Pirman’s compositions come together in Adobe Illustrator as he arranges the elements he has identified into a cohesive whole before they are produced as archival pigment prints. “Being aware of color is in my DNA,” he says about his works’ vivid exuberance. “It evokes my emotions, controls my mood, and it’s something that strongly defines my art.” There is also sense of nostalgia in his compositions that’s intentional. “I want to create the excitement of seeing Florida’s Gulf Coast as a kid during the 1960s,” he explains. “The beaches and motels were glamorous with brightly glowing neon signs. These were some of the happiest memories I had with my family, and sadly, many of these buildings that were so much a part of our history are gone.”
Pirman is also influenced by the aspects that make Sarasota so special. “Sunlight, simplicity of shapes, and minimalism are factors that define the style of my art, and Sarasota’s intense natural light creates a visual drama by helping clarify an object in a composition as it casts shadows,” he says. “An illusion of three-dimensional volume now exists with light and dark colors playing off each other. Great design is timeless.”
Story Credits:
Text by Saxon Henry
John Pirman photo by Brittany Daniel; Artwork photos courtesy of John Pirman
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