“I was always drawn to art,” says oil painter John McAleer, recalling that as far back as fourth grade, a sketch that he made earned him “a lot of compliments.”

Like many artists, though, his artwork took a back seat to his career – in his case literally.

McAleer was born in Connecticut and lived most of his life in Massachusetts before he retired to Vero Beach. Although he majored in English in college, “because I liked to read,” he also concentrated more practically on business.

That led him to a career in sales and eventually to a focus on ergonomic office furniture. The move occurred just as the job market was shifting from manual labor to skilled labor, resulting in a need in the workforce for more comfortable desk chairs.

He ultimately founded the Work-Rite/Sit-Rite Company, an ergonomic chair and furniture company, and he says that during travels throughout his career, he visited many places with an eye toward searching for a place to, in the long run, retire to.

An active outdoorsman, McAleer says that skiing, golfing, hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities called to him more than art, which he considered primarily an indoor activity to do during the cold, northern winters.

He did, however, visit art museums every chance he had.

“If I was somewhere that had a museum, I would take the time to go to that museum,” he says.

Even as a youngster, he recalls constantly badgering his brother and his parents to take him to museums.

“I just loved looking at art. It’s an emotional feeling that I get back from certain pieces of art.”

It wasn’t until moving to Vero Beach that, when he wasn’t golfing, he finally found the time to pick up a paintbrush again.

McAleer says he tried various mediums before deciding that oils would be his medium of choice.

“There’s more expression for me in oil and the colors and the creativity of mixing colors.

With oils, I can make the picture come back and talk to me,” McAleer explains, adding that he prefers oils even though acrylics dry more quickly.

“I’m not in a hurry. Anything I want to do, I can do with oil,” McAleer says.

As he experimented with mediums and techniques, McAleer took drawing and painting classes at the Vero Beach Museum of Art and the Vero Beach Art Club. He comments that by talking with other local artists, he has also learned a lot and has been motivated to try doing things other ways.

He says he is inspired by “everybody that paints. There’s no one person. The Vero Beach Art Club and Cultural Council have so many artists that are really exceptional.”

He says his membership and board service on various types of art-centric nonprofits has also helped him grow as an artist over the years.

McAleer’s work blends the line between realism and impressionism, while being on the edge of the abstract. He says he sometimes holds true to one style or the other, but just as often merges styles. Basically, he says, the subject determines which painting style he selects.

He likes to leave his paintings for a while before returning to look and make sure he’s finished with it, not putting his name on it until he is confident that it is done.

Although he sometimes uses photographs of scenes as a reference, he says they are just for inspiration. The final product is rarely a replica of his observations or photos.

“There is no scene like my painting, but the ideas are right there,” McAleer explains.

Looking at things from different views enables McAleer to capture the essence of a place, such as a painting of the Capital Building in Washington, D.C. that he did after visiting his son.

“I try to get some feeling out of it, but at the same time, too, recognizing where I’ve been. I always want the painting to come back to me. I want it to speak to me. That’s always in the back of my mind,” McAleer says.

Occasionally, just one object in a scene will spark the direction he wants the painting to take.

For example, he had palm trees in mind when he completed a painting of the historic home of Laura (Riding) Jackson, which he donated to the nonprofit.

McAleer generally prefers to paint en plein air before finishing the works at his studio, on the back porch of his home.

“I like the serenity of being outdoors and feeling of the air going by. I get the basic shapes, layout and colors down, because the light is always changing,” shares McAleer.

He also sketches an outline to make sure that the piece is balanced, which he says is the most significant puzzle piece.

“The sketch gets me started. It locks me in. Then, as the picture develops, I can make changes accordingly. That’s from the many years of being a photographer, primarily of different scenes and places.”

McAleer says his advice to anyone interested in painting is to just have fun and create something.

“If you want, make it angry. Something growly with teeth. If you start, and what you’ve created comes out enjoyable, and you really like it, you’ve got to stay with it.”

McAleer’s works can be found in numerous art displays as part of the Cultural Council’s Art in Public Places program, as well as on the Vero Beach Art Club’s Artist Gallery.

Photos by Joshua Kodis