John Charles Pitcher

For over fifty years John has expressed his passion for nature through his art. Approaching his subject with patience and a desire to record, he fills his sketchbooks and field journals using the creative mind of an artist and observant eye of a naturalist. His brush strokes his canvas with all the skill and confidence of a master painter, creating original and dynamic compositions that reveal a sense of place and a knowledge of his subjects, especially birds.

Born in Michigan to parents who loved to camp, he quickly developed a curiosity for nature while discovering his gift for art. With fervency for adventure and wilderness he left home the day after high school graduation to hitchhike 3500 miles to Alaska – only to be drafted into the US Army just weeks after reaching the Great Land. So Pitcher went from the pungent boreal forests of Alaska to the steaming jungles of the Vietnam War. By serving his country he earned a Bronze Star and an early out! Never losing sight of his dream to go north he moved back to Alaska and merged his passion for birds with his talent for painting, gaining him a reputation as one of Alaska’s leading wildlife artists.

Twelve years later he migrated south to Washington, in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens, where he became the “Artist/Naturalist in Residence” at the Cispus Learning Center. From his studio, at this environmental camp, he perfected his painting techniques and further developed his plein air sketching skills while teaching young and adult students about the environment and appreciating nature through his art lectures, bird banding and nature journaling.

In 1994 he moved to Vermont, enjoying the mixed deciduous forests and Green Mountains with his wife Sue Westin, also a professional artist. They maintain their studios in Dorset along the shores of the beautiful Dorset Marsh.

As a Distinguished Signature Member of the international Society of Animal Artists, Pitcher has exhibited his art in major museums and galleries in both America and abroad.