Here’s a press release (with pictures below) about my upcoming show…

Artist John Tebeau’s ‘Simple Pleasures’ show opens Nov. 19 at Art Bar in Manhattan

New York, N.Y. – The economic news is grim: mortgage meltdown, banks in crisis, Congress approving a massive rescue package and the stock market’s all over the place.

New York artist John Tebeau created a series of paintings titled Simple Pleasures in part as a reaction to difficult conditions, and in part as a celebration of what is still good in life.

“I can’t go back in time and stop mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them, fix all that’s broken in Iraq, or improve the sorry state of political discourse – the list of problems out of the control of average people is enormous,” Tebeau said. “As a way to keep things in perspective, I thought about the things I do control, what I can do to improve my mood. Things that I like.”

Tebeau began a list of “good things”: cold beer, hot coffee, summer barbecues, the first snow of winter, vintage Cadillacs, a day at the beach, Bugs Bunny, board games.

“As Andy Warhol once said, Pop Art is about liking things, and that’s what these paintings are all about: simply liking things,” said Tebeau. “Or, actually, liking simple things.”

Simple Pleasures opens at the Art Bar in Manhattan’s West Village in November and runs through Feb. 15. The opening is 6-9 p.m. Nov. 19 at Art Bar, 52 Eighth Ave., near Horatio Street.

Tebeau began cartooning in elementary school in North Muskegon, Mich., encouraged when he realized it got him attention from girls. After graduating from University of Michigan, he moved to Chicago, where he made a living designing and silkscreening T-shirts, and later cofounded Comic Arts Monthly, distributed in Chicago and Ann Arbor, Mich.

He relocated to California’s Bay Area, working as a barista and spent much of his time teaching himself to paint. He also did freelance design and illustration work and paintings commissioned by friends and acquaintances who liked his developing style.

Tebeau now lives in Manhattan, working as a self-employed artist and graphic designer. One of his most consistent clients is Arbor Brewing Co. in Ann Arbor, Mich., which uses Tebeau’s work on its bottles, six-packs and tap handles. Tebeau is an artist in residence at the Brooklyn Artists Gym, where he recently exhibited in a group show. He also teaches after-school art classes at the School for Ethical Culture.

Tebeau’s cartooning is influenced by his love of alternative comics like Robert Crumb and the 1950s-era Mad comics, and his colorful, pop-art painting style brings that approach, as well. He draws painting inspiration from Wayne Thiebaud, Peter Max, Robert Indiana, Alice Neel and Andy Warhol, among others.

In addition to Simple Pleasures, Tebeau will show a sampling of his pop art paintings at Lolita Bar in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, with an opening 6-9 p.m. Dec. 11. That show runs through the end of January. Lolita Bar is located at 266 Broome St., between Allen and Orchard streets.

John Tebeau’s portfolio: http://www.tebeau.com
John Tebeau’s art for sale: jctebeau.etsy.com
John Tebeau’s blog: http://johntebeau.wordpress.com/
More about Art Bar: http://nymag.com/listings/bar/art_bar/
Lolita Bar: http://www.lolitabar.net/