John Vellenga
John Ralston Vellenga was born February 28, 1940. He began doing art in his spare time and for his own enjoyment as early as Kindergarten. Vellenga remembers his first museum trip as a first grade field trip to the local art museum in Davenport, Iowa; he says that the Grandma Moses exhibit on display is something that stayed with him for decades afterward, inspiring him to develop his own artistic style. Other accomplished artists who influenced his work are the sculptor Brancusi and expressionist painter Hans Hoffman.
On the subject of his family's involvement in his art, John says, "Art was always present in our house. Family had shelves of [art] books. My sisters and I would look at the pictures for hours...my parents were supportive and kind, always, about me pursuing art and making art." His parents also highly prioritized education, including fine arts such as learning the piano, painting, and sketching. Vellenga can also recall close friends of his parents who were artists, people whom he looked up to and admired.
When prompted with the very broad question, 'What does art do for you?', Vellenga says quite succinctly that art is what connects him to humanity. He sees art as a tool that can connect him to the ages that also helps him express himself. Vellenga has always encouraged his children and grandchildren to appreciate the arts, and serves as a source of inspiration for many of his grandchildren who have taken great interest in art.
“It widens one’s appreciation of life, I guess...same with poetry: there are the words behind the words. [Art] just makes life so much more satisfying,” he says, “Art, outside of family, is probably the most important thing in my life and it’s important when they overlap.”
John Vellenga has won various local awards for his photography, including a Best in Show award for his piece You and I at the Galex Show in Galesburg, Illinois. He has had the privilege of juding shows in the Monmouth, Galesburg, and Macomb areas of Illinois.
John Vellenga, Self Portrait, photograph, mid-2000s.
Familial Context: Vellenga is the maternal grandfather of Amy Vellenga-Buban and Caroline Vellenga-Buban. He bears no blood relation to Peter Buban, and the two have had minimal contact.