About the Artist
A Painter and Author for All Seasons
Fine Art and Design
I grew up in Appalachia, West Virginia to be exact. The state is often known as “Little Switzerland” for its many hills and mountains and was in some ways a magical if difficult place to grow up. I’m still reminded of it regularly — images of ground fog against the green hills, the whiteness of Trilliums and Dogwood in the Spring, and the intense color of the maple trees in the fall. I stayed in West Virginia through my early 20s, getting a BFA in theatrical design/art from West Virginia University, later travelling to California for graduate study at Stanford University.
Unhappy with academic life, my itchy feet transported me to New York where I became a painter/designer. I has had an enduring career as a theatrical set designer and scenic artist, designing and painting for Broadway, the Metropolitan and San Francisco Operas, Regional theatre in the United States, and spending 20 years as an art director for the casino entertainment circuit, with designs for shows in Las Vegas, Reno/Tahoe and Atlantic City. My work has been featured in London’s West End, Japan and New Zealand, as well as a design celebrating the wonders of Thailand for the Royal Opera House in Bangkok. Murals created for a popular San Francisco restaurant (which I recently restored)– depicting a train journey from New England to San Francisco in 1865 have been in place for 49 years and are soon to be considered for landmark status by the city.
The colors and rugged beauty of the Southwest are what brought me back to the area and to Santa Fe, not to mention the proliferation of galleries and other means of selling my creations. Working primarily in oil with some adventures in watercolor, he depicts the beauties of his adopted home. Living in Santa Fe permits me to indulge his love of color and movement in my large-scale oil landscapes and his “Face of Flamenco” series. “Everyone knows well the multitude of ruffles in Flamenco but who knows the face of the artists?” says this artist. This approach has brought an excellent response. My current series on the strength and endurance of women is gaining wide appreciation.
Resume for: john jason phillips
Fine art and Design | 2712 Plazuela Serena, Santa FE NM | 425.289.9231
www.johnjasonphillips.com | Johnjasonphillips@hotmail.com |
AUTHOR
“The Last Days of the Barbary Coast”
“Queen of the Mission”
“Queen of Mystery”
The series will be available on Amazon 9/11/2025 – Look for THE ULTRASHEEN MYSTERIES
FINE ART
Winner March “Get Noticed Contest” – Fine Art America
Weems Gallery (Albuquerque) representation
Yucca Gallery (Albuquerque) former representation
Gallery ABQ (Albuquerque) former representation
Counter Culture Café (Santa Fe) March and April 2020
Seven Arts Gallery (Santa Fe) guest artist
2019: Solo show HARRY’S ROAD HOUSE
2018: Solo show 7 ARTS GALLERY, 125 Lincoln, Santa Fe
2018: November Group Show: 7 ARTS GALLERY
(5) Solo shows – Seattle Center Theatre Gallery, Seattle WA (2009-2013)
2011: Solo Show – El Greco, Seattle WA
2005-2006: Representation by First Chance Gallery, Seattle WA
1994: Group Show – USITT Convention Gallery, Nashville TN
PRIOR REPRESENTATION:
Golden Gate Galleries, San Francisco CA
First Chance Gallery, Seattle
Coast Gallery, Big Sur, CA
group collection Geary Street Gallery, San Francisco CA
solo exhibition Shreve and Co., San Francisco CA
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Former Member: United Scenic Artists, Local 829, New York: full member in scenic design and painting, costume design and lighting design
Member: USITT (former Vice-Commissioner for Scenic Art, former Vice-Commissioner for Safety) Full Day Workshops: Texture (paint, applied and large scale), Alternative to Watercolor Rendering, Going for Baroque (designing for Las Vegas and the casino circuit).
Adjudicator for AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATRE FESTIVAL.
Adjunct Instructor: Bellevue College
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Fine Arts: West Virginia University
MFA Candidate: Stanford University
Certification in 3D graphics and animation: Bellevue College
Owner/Operator: JASON PHILLIPS DESIGNS, San Francisco, Seattle and Santa Fe (since 1976): Specializing in architectural and commercial design + illustration.
Current Projects: projection design for Billy Elliott and The Wizard of Oz
SCENIC ARTIST CREDITS
Scenic Artist: San Francisco Opera
Freelance Scenic Artist (NYC): Nolan Brothers Scenic Studio, Fellers Scenic Studio. New York City Opera, Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theatre, Broadway, Seattle Opera, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre (Seattle)
Charge Scenic Artist: Intiman Theatre (Seattle): To Kill and Mockingbird
Charge Scenic Artist: Seattle Opera: Carmen, The Consul.
Charge Scenic Artist: SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE: The Forest, Fences, Girl Crazy, Richard III, You Can’t Take It With You, Home, Henry V, Red Square (projection design), Hogan’s Goat, Tartuffe
DESIGN CREDITS
Santa Fe Playhouse: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTIME – Scenic and Projection Design
Broadway: PARK (Royal Theatre)
Equity Library Theatre (NYC): THE VISIT
Off Broadway: Tango (American Premiere) Slow Dance On The Killing Ground (Sheridan Square Playhouse), HMS Pinafore, Patience, The Gondoliers, The Mikado, , The World of Gunther Grass.
Film Art Direction: Marilyn Forever Blonde
Resident Designer, SEATTLE REPERTORY THEATRE (three seasons): Indians, A Flea In Her Ear, And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little, Adaptation/Next, Richard II, Ring Round The Moon,Hotel Paradiso, Child’s Play, Macbeth, A Delicate Balance, All Over, Hay Fever, House of Blue Leaves, Thieves Carnival, Camino Real, Getting Married.
Resident Designer, CENTER STAGE BALTIMORE: Slow Dance on the Killing Ground, The Knack, The Tempest, Park, Ganadiges Fraulien/Indian Wants The Bronx, Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Scenic Designer:
Resident Designer and Charge Scenic Artist: Greg Thompson Productions, Seattle, WA: 20+ years and over 400 productions; designing for Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno/Tahoe, casino circuit (Harrah’s, Golden Nugget, Rio, Ceasar’s, Trump Castle) Microsoft, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Royal Opera House Bangkok, Thailand, Japan, Bahamas, Hawaii, Nova Scotia Museum of Art, among others.
KENMARK SCENIC BACKDROPS (Kansas City): Bye Bye Birdie, The Wizard of Oz, Legally Blonde, White Christmas, Curtains, The Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors, Annie, Shrek.
Academy Playhouse (Chicago): A Delicate Balance.
Mountain Home Playhouse (Poconos): Light Up The Sky, Boeing Boeing, Time Out for Ginger, The Real Inspector Hound.
Kenley Players: Showboat, Plain and Fancy, The Marriage Go Round, Man of La Mancha
MUSIC THEATRE OF WICHITA, Wichita, KS. The Pirates of Penzance, Mack and Mabel, Kismet, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, Annie, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella.
PROMISED LAND PLAYHOUSE (Salt Lake City): The Wizard of Oz.
Guest Scenic Designer: WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY: The Mikado, La Boheme.
Film Art Direction: Marilyn Forever Blonde
Freelance Scenic/Projection Designer
Seattle Repertory Theatre: Red Square
SEATTLE MUSICAL THEATRE: Guys and Dolls, Honk, Camelot, Into the Woods, 110 In The Shade.
ACT THEATRE (Seattle): Joe Egg, A lesson From The Aloes
THE VILLAGE THEATRE (Issaquah, WA): The Mousetrap.
SEATTLE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: The Comedy of Errors, Julius Caesar, Swan Song, Servant of Two Masters, Turn of the Screw, Henry V, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Pygmalion, Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY (guest designer): Romeo and Juliet
TENESSEE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: Romeo and Juliet.
WALLA WALLA SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: Permanent Blackfriar’s style set: The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged.
BELLEVUE COLLEGE: The Foreigner, Little Shop of Horrors.
THEATRE GROUP NORTHWEST: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Footloose, Agatha