John Courtney

John Courtney visual artist insomnia restaurant and lounge bloor street west the annex toronto ontario

Opening Party - Monday December 16, 2024, 8-10pm. Click to reserve table.

Closing Party - Sunday January 12, 2025, 5-7pm. Click to reserve table.

visual artist john courtney at Insomnia Restaurant and Lounge, Bloor street west Toronto ontario

Meet John

Nothing happens in a vacuum.

I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to make art. Although I did (lol). The idea was always there, It just took me some time to get here.
 
 Like everyone, I am the culmination of my lived experience. All of the things I have done, have led me to a time and place where making my art is not only a privilege, it is a necessity.
 
For a time, I had divorced myself from all things creative. a very long time, I knew I had to get back into my art. With the same excitement and the same intentions as I started with 25 years earlier, I began again.

Those same feelings of clarity, contentment and joy came back. My lost creativity was returning. I needed to hang onto this feeling, and the best way to do so was committing my time and energy to my art full time.

Please allow me to share the culmination of my lived experiences.

John Courtney visual artwork Insomnia Restaurant and Lounge

Bold, energetic, authentic and original.

" A combination of acrylics and mixed media on large scale canvas.
Freedom is found in the process of creating. There is no desired outcome or envisioned final product. It doesn't matter where I start, it matters how I get there. There are no mistakes or rules. I know a piece is finished when I get a certain feeling. A feeling of satisfaction that can only be derived from going through the creative process.
 
My art has its own style, which I describe as authentic, bold and energetic.
The finished work is definitely abstract, but the subject matter is derived from real life.

Having said that, for the most part, I have no desire to recreate what I see. My art comes from a place filled with the need to create. I reinterpret my influences and experiences into abstract images. Architecture, technology, pop culture, music, art, politics, fashion and the challenges or triumphs I have experienced, all play a part in what I create. There is no end result in mind when I start a new piece. The idea almost always starts with color and it evolves from there. Creating depth through the use of paper collage,layers of paint and overlapping mediums, the art emerges
 
 I like to create primarily on oversized canvas. A combination of acrylic paint, spray paint, oil pastel, pages torn from magazines and books, hand cut stencils, news paper, masking tape, pencil and marker.  
 
If I can paint with it, spray through it, tear it up or and paint over it, I use it."

— John Courtney


To purchase any art piece, please e-transfer to info@insomniarestaurant.com or speak to one of our staff members. In your etransfer please include the following: artist's name, art piece title, purchase amount.

john courtney visual artist

C86

24”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$847.50 (including tax)

john courtney visual artist insomnia restaurant and lounge bloor street west toronto ontario

C81

24”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$847.50 (including tax)

john courtney visual artist insomnia restaurant and lounge bloor street west toronto ontario

Bar Code

36”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$1073.50 (including tax)


 

John Courtney visual artist Insomnia Restaurant and Lounge Bloor street west Toronto Ontario

Decoded

36”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$1073.50 (including tax)

john courtney visual artist

Politico/Corpo/Psycho

36”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$1017 (including tax)

John Courtney visual art Insomnia Restaurant and Lounge Bloor street west Toronto ontario

Virtual

36”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$1017 (including tax)


 

John Courtney visual artist

My Algorithm

48”x36”

Acrylic and paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$1,695 (including tax)

John Courtney visual artist insomnia restaurant lounge bloor west toronto ontario

Art Is

48”x36”

Acrylic and paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$1,469 (including tax)

John Courtney visual artist insomnia restaurant and lounge bloor street west toronto ontario

Abandoned Level 1

24”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on paper on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$734.50 (including tax)


 

Acrylic on paper collage on canvas

Big Country

36”x36”

Acrylic on paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$904 (including tax)

john Courtney visual artist insomnia restaurant and lounge bloor street west toronto ontario

Abandoned Level 2

24”x36”

Acrylic and mixed media on paper on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$734.50 (including tax)

John Courtney visual artist series Insomnia Restaurant Lounge Bloor street west Toronto Ontario

C83

36”x36”

Acrylic on paper collage on canvas.
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$904 (including tax)


 

John Courtney visual artist series Insomnia Restaurant Lounge Bloor street west Toronto Ontario

Lab 1

18”x24” 

??Acrylic on paper collage on canvas.??
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$452 (including tax)

John Courtney visual artist series Insomnia Restaurant Lounge Bloor street west Toronto Ontario

Lab 2

18”x24”

??Acrylic on paper collage on canvas.??
Click here to view large version of artwork.

$452 (including tax)

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