Veterans Honoring Veterans

My name is Gordon Vanus. My art is photography. My parents handed down an old camera when I was 10 years old. That started an adventure of learning and practicing photography that continues today. My first formal training was a semester of Photography as a sophomore in high school. At the end of the term several of us were asked if we would like to join a graphic arts program for our junior and senior years. We all readily excepted because we would have unlimited use of the schools darkroom.

Photography

My first career enabled me to see the world, experiencing the beauty of many countries, their people and culture. I have met a tiger face-to-face in the elephant gras of South Asia, climbed the fjord cliffs of Norway, seen artic wolves chasing mice in the snow, and watched the flight of an eagle over our Ship Rock. I have also experienced, firsthand, the death and destruction of war, and of how inhuman humans can become. My art derives from that unique pallet of life.

Don Johnson Jr. is a modern-day Renaissance Man. For over 40 years, he has been creating art for the enjoyment of others. Mr. Johnson was born in Louisiana, but grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and attended college at UNM. In college, Mr. Johnson was a cartoonist for the University of New Mexico Daily Lobo. After graduating college with a Bachelor's of Science he joined the United States Navy and became a helicopter pilot.

Oil on Canvas