John M. Mishler

“The journey of a thousand miles begins but with a single step,” and so the beginning of each of Mishler’s major works commences with the application of one of thousands of ink dots onto paper, utilizing a wooden toothpick.

During his career as a painter, Mishler has always attempted to explore new and innovative styles in producing his water-based ink paintings and drawings. In an effort to develop such styles, Mishler was drawn toward the French Neo-Impressionist painters Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, who treated entire canvases with small dots (using a fine brush to apply oils) of color in a scientific application of the theory known as ‘pointillism’. Mishler has expanded upon their earlier methods and employs a modification of their pointillism technique. In his more detailed paintings, each of the many thousands of small dots is created by dipping a wooden toothpick into a variety of colored inks. The overall expression of each color is adjusted by the number (density) and position of dots and/or the addition of different colored dots. This type of labor-intensive process (each piece takes some five to eight weeks of full-time effort to complete) allows for very fine adjustments with respect to the final hue/tint of all colors employed. It should be mentioned that no brush of any type is ever used in the creation of Mishler’s works. The underlying artistic theme, present in the majority of Mishler’s works, represents an ‘abstract’ interpretation of events or scenes in nature, as influenced by his formal training in the sciences, especially the field of biology.

Mishler’ works has been exhibited in several solo exhibitions, including Medley of Ink Paintings, in Stover Mill Gallery of Erwinna, Pennsylvania, in 2004. His work has also been exhibited in numerous group exhibitions across the east coast and beyond. Some notable places his work has been exhibited include the Salmagundi Club in New York in 2002 as well as the Missouri Watercolor Society in Fulton, Missouri, of which Mishler was made a signature member in 2007. The artist has also been the recipient of many awards and prizes over the years.

Education and Training
AA Biology (Honors), Orange Coast College, 1966, Southern California
AB (Molecular Biology), The University of California, 1969
ScM (Engineering Sciences), 1971, San Diego, California
DPhil (Immunohaematology), The University of Oxford, Oxford, England, 1978
MRCPath, The Royal College of Pathologists, England, 1981
FRCPath, The Royal College of Pathologists, England, 1992,

Teachers and Influences
Arthur Dove, George Seurat and Paul Signac

Connection to Bucks County
The Mishler family has lived in Bucks County since 1995.

Major Solo Exhibitions
Ink Abstractions, ABC Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1998
Impressionism: Art and Music, Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1999
Pointillism Revisited, Brodsky Gallery, Princeton, New Jersey, 1999
Multiples, The Barron Arts Center, Woodbridge, New Jersey, 2002
Medley of Ink Paintings, Stover Mill Gallery, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, 2004

Major Group Exhibitions
Phillips' Mill, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1997-2000, 2002
Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1997-1999
Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, New Jersey, 1998-2000, 2002
Westmoreland Art Nationals, Greenburg, Pennsylvania, 1998, 1998
Mayfair Festival of the Arts, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1999
Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, 1999
State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1999, 2001
The Baker Arts Foundation, Liberal, Kansas, 2000
Long Beach Island Foundation, Long Beach Island, New Jersey, 2000
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2000, 2001
Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2001
Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania, 2001
Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 2001
Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, Maryland, 2001
Ridgewood Art Institute, Ridgewood, New Jersey, 2002
Wayne Art Center, Wayne, Pennsylvania, 2002
Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, New York, 2002
Rhode Island Watercolor Society, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 2002
The Salmagundi Club, New York, New York, 2002
Louisville Art Association, Louisville, Colorado, 2003
Missouri Watercolor Society, Fulton, Missouri, 2003
Montana Watercolor Society, Butte, Montana, 2003
National Society of Artists, Arlington, Texas, 2003
Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2003
Fine Arts Institute, San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, California, 2003
Period Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska, 2003, 2003
Art Source Gallery, Boise, Idaho, 2004
Classical Art Gallery, New York, 2004
Red River Watercolor Society, Fargo, North Dakota, 2004
Red River Valley Museum, Vernon, Texas, 2004
Taos National Society of Watercolorists, Taos, New Mexico, 2004
Stamford Art Association, Stamford, Connecticut, 2004
Associated Arts of Southport, Southport, North Carolina, 2004
South Cobb Arts Alliance, Marbleton, Georgia, 2004
Placerville Arts Association, Placerville, California, 2004
Allied Artists of America, Inc., New York, New York, 2004

Awards
GNAL Board of Director's Award for Originality, GNAL, 1998
Second Prize, Chester County Art Association, 1998
Award of Merit, Westmoreland Art Nationals, 1998
Second Prize, Center for the Creative Arts, 1999
Robert Ransley Outstanding Talent Award, Burlington County Art Guild, 1999
First, Second, and Honorable Mention Awards, Perkiomen Valley Art Center, 1999, 2001, 2002
Award of Merit, Perkins Center for the Arts, 2000
The President's Award, Salmagundi Club, 2002
Wayne Art Supply Award, Wayne Art Center, 2002
Best of Show/First Place Award, Louisville Art Association, 2003
Jerry's Artarama Award, Montana Watercolor Society, 2003
Special Recognition Award, Period Gallery, 2003
Honorable Mention, Associated Artists of Southport, 2004
Honorable Mention, Taos National Society of Watercolorists, 2004
Third Prize, Susquehanna Art Society, 2004
Traveling Show Award, Elk River Area Arts Alliance, MN, 2005
Winston Churchill Award in Painting, Missouri Watercolor Society, 2005
Third Place, Conneaut Community Center for the Arts, OH, 2006
Ursus Abstrct Award, Tubac Center of the Arts, AZ, 2006
Arches Paper Award, Oklahoma Watercolor Association, 2007
The Arts Student League of New York Award, Audubon Artist's, Inc., 2007
Honorable Mention, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York, 2008
Peter Jones Memorial Award for Innovative Watercolor, Audubon Artists, New York, New York, 2008
Second Prize (Prints & Graphics), Art Association of Harrisburg, 2009
Gold Medal of Honor, Audubon Artists Inc. National Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York, 2010

Memberships
Signature Member, Missouri Watercolor Society, 2005
Signature Member, Tubac Center of the Arts, AZ, 2007
Signature Member, Mississippi Watercolor Society, 2007
Elected Member, Audubon Artists, Inc., New York City, 2008
Signature Member, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, 2009
Signature Member, Taos National Society of Watercolorists, 2009
Signature Member, Rhose Island Watercolor Society, 2009