By Michelle Malinchak
Leon Battista Alberti, one of the great thinkers of the Italian Renaissance, once wrote: “A man can do all things if he will.” As a painter, musician, poet, composer, dancer, attorney and lifelong learner John Kazary has lived by that philosophy. His ability to master such a wide range of pursuits would likely have impressed Alberti, but John explains it more simply. “I’m like this regimented guy. I’m really good at sticking with stuff. I’ve always wanted to paint,” he said, “so I started just trying to emulate the masters, trying to find my footing.”
He dabbled a little in the mid-1980s but became really serious around 1995 when he discovered cubism. “The cubist work I did took a lot of patience and tedium,” he said, “though I liked the results.”
One of those works—a portrait of Henry Mercer and his dog, Rollo—earned Best Oil Painting from the Doylestown Art League (DAL). “I knew I didn’t have the skill set that other artists had, but it was just so different that I think that’s why it won an award. If you can’t be good, be different.”
Cubism taught him about structure and balance, but as his technical skills improved, he transitioned to a more traditional style. Around 1996 he committed himself seriously to painting and joined the DAL.
One of the instructors there left a lasting impression. Known for his larger-than-life personality, the teacher was unapologetically blunt and wasn't afraid to criticize students when they strayed from his vision. On one occasion, he even threw a student's painting across the room.
When John painted a covered bridge scene, the teacher picked up a palette knife and scraped away the entire sky. “Forty-five minutes of work, just scraped off,” John recalled. “This is a painting about a covered bridge,” his teacher told him. “You don’t want people looking at the sky. They should be looking at that bridge. Now paint the bridge and I’ll be back.”
“I think about it to this day,” John said. “What’s this painting about? I’m not going to make every square inch of that painting be luxurious, because now the viewer doesn’t know where to look, right? It has to focus on something. He taught an amazing lesson, and that was more important than my hurt feelings.”
Although largely self-taught, John occasionally studies with other artists to gain fresh perspectives. “I don’t take a lot of lessons, but maybe three or four classes with someone just to get new DNA.” Among those he studied with is Plumsteadville based artist George Thompson.
Most artists, John believes, excel at landscapes, portraits or still life. “But you can tackle any subject, or at least try to,” he said. Whatever he pursues, commitment comes first.
John paints at home in his studio, always beginning with photographs he takes himself. After digitally adjusting them, he prints both color and black-and-white versions to study values. “Values are more important than color,” he said.
His style is loose and impressionistic. “I always say I like to paint people doing something,” he said. “But this year is the year of painting water.”
Rather than toning his canvas, he sketches directly onto the white surface using raw umber acrylic paint. The acrylic underpainting dries quickly before being covered with oils. “If I go way off course with the oil paint I know I can remove it and get back to the original drawing,” he said.
John also limits his palette. “Lyon Cafe,” pictured here, was inspired by a trip to France with his wife, Marsha, and uses only the three primary colors. Travel provides him with an endless supply of inspiration.
Scale also plays an important role in his work. While painting a Roman aqueduct, he felt something was missing. His solution was simple: he added a small figure, his wife, to convey the aqueduct’s immense size.
Long before painting became his passion, music was John’s first love. Raised in Warrington and Doylestown with four siblings, be began piano lessons at age eight. By 15 he was playing electric bass guitar in a rock band and trombone in the Central Bucks West High School jazz band. After graduating, he attended Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, majoring in psychology with a minor in economics. Outside the classroom, he continued writing songs and performing on piano and guitar.
Law school applications after graduation were unsuccessful, prompting him to follow another passion. Because he had a gift for melody, he enrolled at the former Rhode Island School of Music in Providence where he spent a year studying jazz composition, orchestration and piano performance. “I learned two things in music school: I’m not as good as I think I am, and the guys who were outstanding just weren’t living the lifestyle that I felt I wanted to. It’s hard to make a living in the arts.”
Still determined to become an attorney, he applied to law school at Ohio Northern University. “I made up my mind I was going to do this,” he said.
Once there, he discovered the school had not one, but two bands. John auditioned and became the pianist for the Ohio Northern University Jazz Band and composed his own music, or charts, for the band. “So I was writing every day and playing every day. I was immersed and didn’t see the light of day sometimes.”
During that time he composed more than a dozen big band charts as well as small combo compositions. One of them, entitled “Buckminster Graves,” was recorded by the Bucknell Jazz and Rock Ensemble on its ‘Turned Loose’ album and was performed in Europe.
Writing poetry became another creative outlet which John began in his 20’s. “A lot of emotion and not much skill,” he laughed. “You’re the only one who’s ever suffered, right? I look back and it was a little bit sing-songy.” He has self-published two books of poetry, the second in 1996 during a particularly difficult period in his life.
Today his poetry is less emotional and more about a certain time or place. “I generally avoid perfect meter,” he said. Some of his poems are fun tongue twisters reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.”
After earning his Juris Doctor degree, John practiced law, became part owner of a trailer manufacturing company and later worked as a trust officer for Univest Bank in Souderton, eventually serving as vice president.
Still, music found its way back into his life. One evening in 1984, the piano player failed to show up at Gobblers, a popular restaurant and nightclub in Pt. Pleasant, PA. John’s brother Tom happened to mention that John could play Dixieland piano.
“So, I was making cookies when I got the call. I said, well, once the batch is done, I’ll come over.” That one night favor turned into a 16-year weekend engagement.
Around the same time, another dream was realized. After watching legendary tap dancer Honi Coles perform on The Dick Cavett Show, John decided to learn tap dancing. “That’s something I always wanted to do,” he said, so he called Budzynski Studios in Doylestown and took lessons with dance instructor Barry Finkle for two years before continuing with instructor Tom Stevens for another five. Later he also studied ballroom dancing.
Jumping out of his seat, he demonstrated the two different styles of tap dancing, waist up and waist down with all the finesse of Fred Astaire. Eventually, he incorporated tap dancing at Gobblers.
These days John takes summers off from painting. “So, my joke is, I’m not depressed enough to paint in summer. But also, I paint in my basement, and it’s just not fun on a beautiful day like this.”
Retirement has allowed him to devote even more time to the arts. “I can’t live without goals,” he said. "I’m very structured. So now I’m going to focus on three things: painting, writing music and poetry.” He’s currently working on a third poetry collection and continues to compose and arrange music for big bands and small combos. He still practices piano every day and has served as president of the Doylestown Art League since 1998.
In addition, he’s also learning German and Spanish on Duolingo and remains an accomplished golfer and tennis player.
Looking back on his artistic journey, “It’s been 30 years of serious pain,” he laughed. I’m at the end of it now.”
His advice to aspiring artists is to stay committed. Work through the self-doubt, don’t rush the process. “Do what you want and if you’re not good at it,” he said, “don’t worry.”
John Kazary’s work can be viewed at www.johnkazary.com. His paintings are currently on exhibit at the Bucks County Bar Association in Doylestown at State and Church Streets and are also featured annually in the juried art show at Meadowood Senior Community in Lansdale, PA.
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Michele Malinchak is a freelance writer who has a degree in art and enjoys oil painting.