John Taylor Wagner is a Los Angeles, California based painter. In addition to drawing much from his imagination, John taught himself how to draw at a young age using magazines, photos, and paused films to study the human figure and expression. He did not think having a career as an artist was possible until much later in his life where he studied classical realism drawing. John’s paintings capture moments of presence and joy combining both figurative and gestural, abstracted language, working with the human form and glimpses of nature. They are inspired by moments of human connection, either witnessed or experienced, as well as his own longing for tender moments during many times of transition, dislocation, and isolation. He is a self-taught painter.