John Taft studied design at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and then illustration while on scholarship at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. John began painting on weekends in 2001. In 2004, he left a successful 18-year career as a designer and art director in television, and moved with his family from New York to Colorado to pursue painting full time. In June 2012, John won the top Award of Excellence for landscape at the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition. Southwest Art Magazine did a feature article on John for their July 2012 issue.  He has exhibited his work at the Masters of American Art at the Salmagundi Club in New York City, the Coors Western Art Show in Denver, and many other prestigious exhibitions around the United States.  Today he is one of the finest progressive Western landscape painters, with a unique ability to combine modern compositions with traditional technique and color palette. His ability to convey the emotional power of the Western landscape, including its epic scale, is a defining characteristic of his work.