Artist: John Hutchinson

The party who makes the winning bid on my whale will have the opportunity to have me bury the name of his choice among the hidden treasures.

Painting is in my blood. Three generations of my forbearers were artists.
Having graduated from the Robson School of Fine Art in 1975, I plunged into the marine art waters. My subjects were 19th century sailing vessels and period maritime views. In 1978 I was one of the founding members of ASMA (the American Society of Marine Artists).

In the aftermath of my 10th annual exhibit of Marine Art show (1985), my wife remarked, “There are a lot of people who would like to own a piece of your art, but they don't want a ship.” I took her advice to heart and began to broaden my subject matter horizon. Since then my subjects, to name a few, have included portraits of animals and portraits of my children, wildlife scenes, custom-ordered liquor bottle labels, wooden-bodied beach wagons, duck decoy portraits, fishing scenes, and illustrations for my books for children.

In 2016 I did my first painting on an Art in the Park shark. Last year my whale sold for the highest figure in the history of the event.

Item of Special Note

It will pay dividends to scrutinize my Outermost Shack whale. 

"For those people who may be examining my whale down in the park-it will pay dividends to scrutinize it. There are a number of "buried treasures” to be found hidden on and around the premises. Among them you will find the names of the structure's three original shack contractors (twice), a love note to my wife, the names of my wife, my two daughters, my puppies’ names as well as the name of one of original shack contractor’s dog, and a paragraph from the Bill of Rights.

The party who makes the winning bid on my whale will have the opportunity to have me bury the name of his choice among the hidden treasures.