John Chehak 

 Who am I?  I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  I graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 1973 and began practicing retail pharmacy in my home town. By the time I was in my late forties I noticed that my friends were playing too much golf, buying fast cars, taking cooking classes, or skiing in the mountains. I began to feel an urge to explore my long dormant artistic abilities. When I actually decided to pick up a brush I knew I wanted to use paint that would dry quickly, was water soluble - but not watercolors, and did not smell.  My medium of choice was, and still is, undiluted acrylic paint on paper and canvas. By this time, I needed to figure out how to promote my work and eventually sell my paintings.

After participating in a couple local art shows and doing some research I decided to apply to a number of regional art fairs within two hundred and fifty miles from my home.  My motivation was to see if the public was interested in purchasing my work so I could generate more funds to buy more supplies so I could paint more pictures. As I began to get accepted in juried fairs, I realized I had opened another “can of worms.” Besides paying the substantial fees for most juried events, I needed to purchase a good quality tent and add some amenities to it like a comfortable flooring, a decorative rug, lighting to highlight the work, and good quality display panels for hanging my art. Other expenses included reserving hotel rooms, food and gas purchases, and whether to purchase a van or rent one for transportation. 

My work has been featured on the University of Iowa’s website the Daily Palette; in 2002 was chosen to display my artwork in the Iowa Governor’s Mansion. One of my early ‘Rooftops' paintings was selected as the January 2010 cover photo for JMCP magazine. Ironically, JMCP is a magazine for pharmacists.  According to Sheila Macho, Cover Editor for JMCP , 'Chehak's Rooftops painting bears a slight resemblance to a Georges Braque Cubist landscape. Cubism was an early 20th century avant-garde art movement pioneered by Braque  and Pablo Picasso that revolutionized European painting and sculpture. The scene, reminiscent of an Italian village,appears to be impossibly crowded, yet believable at the same time. Perhaps the  composition is a metaphor for urban overcrowding. Or it could represent the artist's state of mind -- his attempt to convey all of the feelings that he was experiencing at the time.’  Additionally, in 2015 one of my Iowa landscapes was chosen as banner art for the MFA Creative Writing Program at Iowa State University in Ames, IA.; and early in 2016, I finished a successful one-man show at The Biomedical Research Facility at the University of Iowa Medical Campus in Iowa City, IA.  In 2018 I was truly honored to be chosen as the Commemorative Print Artist for the 25th Annual St. Louis Art Fair in Clayton Mo. In 2020 I was selected as the poster artist for the well-known 57th Street Art Fair, in Chicago, Illinois. Twenty five years later, my work has come full circle. It was once described on the Des Moines based Kavanaugh Gallery's website: 'His muted colors and distinct choice of subject matter have attracted collectors throughout the nation. Many of Chehak's paintings emerge directly from his imagination.'


My subjects have included urban scenes in New York, Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans, but I still prefer the sedate, yet captivating, landscapes of the Midwest.  A few years ago, an online reviewer wrote, “Native Iowan John Chehak is a masterful draftsman and painter…His wide expanse of expertise and style make his artwork a treat to explore.” For the past fifteen years my wife and I have participated in exclusive juried art fairs in Chicago, Marion Ia, Evanston, Minneapolis, Edina, Omaha, Hinsdale, Elmhurst, Winnetka, Geneva, Wheaton, Oconomowoc, Naperville, St. Charles, Peoria, Northbrook, St. Louis, and Madison. 

Biggest success: Easy. At the 2018 St Louis Art Fair in Clayton, Missouri I attended the show with close to forty paintings. I went home with two. I had to cancel a couple of shows scheduled for the next month due to lack of inventory.


                                                              Debbie Chehak

My love of photography began when I was a young girl and received my first camera. Through the years I have taken a multitude of photos resulting in a varied collection of images. Rather than archiving these photos I now use them to produce distinctive artwork. My creative process involves generating an imaginative concept using AI, then I incorporate my own photos or refine and express my vision through detailed manipulation using Adobe Photoshop and other photo-editing software.