A realist painter is trying to keep it real. San Franciscan John Hood told Bay Area Innovators host Steve Ispas how he has dedicated his life to improving his art skills and keeping realism alive.

Hood recalled that when he was young, his mother told him he could be anything he wanted to be, and he believed that. Hood trained as an architect and worked in San Francisco for 40 years. He also made cards and Valentine’s gifts for his wife and three daughters, and others marveled at his artwork.

“And when I would go out to doctors’ offices and places, I would see the art that they had in there, and I was so angry about it, because I just knew in my heart. ... I wanted to be able to do better than what I saw,” said Hood.

When Hood paints, his family leaves him alone, he listens to classical music, and he has what he describes as an intensive dialogue with the painting.

“I’ll take the painting upstairs and put it on the mantel where the best light is, and I will stare at it for 20 minutes. And then I’ll turn my back, and I’ll walk as far away as I can be from the painting, and then I’ll turn quickly to look. And what I’ve learned is the first thing you see is the defect, where’s the fault, the area that I need to work on to improve,” said Hood. “My family laughs at me about it, but it’s very effective. And then I take the painting back down and work on it some more. It’s a wonderful experience.”

Three of John Hood’s watercolor paintings. (The Epoch Times)

He said music helps him set the mood, from classical pieces such as Yo-Yo Ma’s, Bach concertos, and Mozart; to more rhythmic pieces from Sheryl Crow and the Beatles. Then he sits at the easel and checks that he has all the colors he needs to start the blending process.

“I sit quietly for a minute and just stare at it. And then I make the first stroke, and usually I have to redo it, because I’m too picky,” said Hood. “Over time, it’s one stroke, and then it’s 50, and the whole time I feel elated.”

Hood creates his artwork using watercolors and oil. He loves painting scenery, water, and birds.

“I’ve painted multiple birds—cardinals, herons ... and people love them. I think the reason they like them is because they’re so strong and the color is so rich, and then the reflection in the water. This is one of my favorite birds,” Hood said, pointing to one of the paintings he brought to the Bay Area Innovators show. “And it’s sold.”

John Hood’s painting “Black’s Cove.” (The Epoch Times)

He also paints imagined scenery, like “Black’s Cove.” Hood encountered artist’s block with this one because he felt his paintings tended to look the same, so he spoke with his mentor.

“And he said, loosen up, give yourself a time limit and be finished; and so this painting took two hours, which in oil just never happens for me. And it’s done with a palette knife and a brush, and so the color goes on rapidly, and you smear the color on, and if you close your eyes and run your hands over the canvas, you’ll feel the texture of the paint, which I think is cool. I love it,” he said.

Another painting he is very pleased with is a forest scene with a hiking trail and light shining through the trees. Hood said it is very reminiscent of his wife, and they both like the outdoors.

“Abstract painters will be mad when I say this, but it tends to be two-dimensional, whereas realist paintings are trying to draw you in. And so even though the surface of the painting is still zero-zero, it feels as if the back of the painting is 50 feet away. And I think that this painting captures that,” Hood said. “Notice that in the brown of the path, there’s probably five or six different shades of brown, there’s gold, there’s green, there’s some purple. And I think that the foliage, the vine that’s crawling up the tree on the far right and the vine that’s crawling up here, they look like they are electric. They really catch the light well.”

One of John Hood’s paintings. (The Epoch Times)

Hood gets inspiration from looking at other people’s artwork in various cities when he follows his wife for photography work and wanders in museums.

“It’s an emotional interaction, and I can picture what the artist was thinking. I can picture it ... anger in the eyes, or the sun as it rises,” he said.

However, Hood is frustrated when he goes to museum shows and exhibits and sees more modern pieces instead of classical ones.

“There’s less realist paintings, and the market has changed [into] big, wild, abstract things. And you know, as I say this out loud, I’m sure people will object to what I’m saying, but my perception is realist landscapes and scenes have lost some interest for people,” he said. “Since Picasso—it’s more or less when the modern abstract movement started ... 50 years ago. And so it’s still such a new thing that maybe it’s just the new toy.”

Some of his favorite painters are Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Gustav Klimt, Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, and Winslow Homer.

Hood said that every few years he notices that he is getting better, and he is excited for what the next 25 years will bring.