Evaporation is the driving force behind my high-relief paintings. Acrylic medium embedded with stones dries through directed airflow, causing the surface to contract and fracture into intricate networks of cracks and terrain-like textures that are later enriched with paint.
Evoking aerial views of rivers, canyons, and mountains, the work explores the intersection of natural formation and artistic intention. The material becomes both subject and collaborator in a process I call Paint Tectonics.
Biography
John Styner is an abstract artist based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His decades-long career in advertising as an art director and graphic designer developed the eye for composition, color, and design that defines his high-relief paintings today.
He began developing his evaporation-driven process in 2016 and turned to painting full-time in 2024. In 2026, his work received the Risk Takers Award at Ellarslie Open 43, presented by the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie in Trenton, New Jersey.
Juried Exhibitions
2026 – Ellarslie Open 43, Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Trenton, NJ
2026 – 14th Annual Juried Show, Artists of Yardley, Yardley, PA
