John Goodman is known for his figurative paintings, often working with thick layers of oil paint that take on a sculptural quality. He creates landscapes, interiors and intimate portraits in a gestural style that oscillates between abstraction and representation.He often works with a single motif that is transported in a succession of intensely worked canvases.

About his own work, Goodman says “painting is a coming together of two things – a specific subject, a model or landscape, and something elemental which allows us to connect, empathize, love or feel compassion for that which is other than us.”

As a self-taught artist, Goodman has been deeply influenced by the Bay Area Figurative Movement which grew out of the work of David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, Nathan Oliveira and others.Nathan Oliveira has been an inspirational mentor to Goodman. Oliveira has said “John Goodman is one of the few Bay Area painters who still has faith in the language of paint.”

John Goodman is a native Californian who lives and works in San Francisco. Goodman has a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of California at Davis and was a professional playwright before turning to painting full time.

Goodman’s work has been shown in museum exhibitions in San Jose, Los Gatos and Bolinas, at the Allan Stone Gallery in New York City and the Perimeter Gallery in Chicago.