John Villinski

Why Abstract Southwest?
Why Abstract Southwest? Some of my favorite images are of the delicate patterns created in the sandstone formations in the red rock canyon country. I really like images that make people wonder. With these images, people have often asked me "what is that" or "how big is that"?

Biography
I have had a an interest in nature and the environment since my first camping trips up in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson in the early 1980s.  I bought my first camera in 1984, and I was hooked.

I was very taken with photography, working with B&W film, but I could not develop my own film or make my own prints. So I decided to take a beginning photography course at the University. Since those humble beginnings, I have moved on to equipment that allows me greater flexibilities and control over the final product. I continued my photography education by spending weeks in the outdoors traveling, and endless hours in my darkroom, which soon became a dedicated 10x10 room in my house.

I realized along the way that B&W was not always the best medium for the images I wanted to capture, and I delved into the realm of color photography in the middle 1990s. Of course, since I still print my B&W in a traditional darkroom, that means that I get to carry around extra equipment so I can be prepared!

Now, I am showing my work at art fairs and galleries around the Southwest! And I have not looked back, fully leaving the university in 2005. I hope you enjoy viewing my work as much as I have creating it. For more of John's work, Click Here>>