JOHN KETTMAN Artist SPOTLIGHT

from Starved Rock Country Magazine - Summer 2023

Where luxury Meets Nature

Local artists invigorate the community with thoughtful, creative pieces. Each issue, Starved Rock Country Magazine and Starved Rock Country Community Foundation are partnering to highlight artists and their work.

t’s not every day that a pumpkin provides an opportunity to meet a future president. But for pop culture artist John Kettman, that was the case during the 2016 election.

In the midst of the presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Kettman painted caricatures of the candidates on pumpkins. His “Trumpkin” soon went viral on social media, and he received an opportunity to meet Trump during a campaign rally.

Incidentally, that wasn’t the first time Kettman’s artwork introduced him to celebrities.

“In 2006, my daughter Kayla and I attended the ‘American Idol’ concert in Bloomington. I had decided to paint the top 10 finalists and brought my painting to see what reaction I would get from other people,” Kettman said. “The security guard took it backstage, and I got all 10 Idol finalists to sign it. That was my awakening to the public art world.”

During the 2020 presidential election, Kettman created another Trumpkin and a “Bidekin” of President Joe Biden.

Kettman has been linked to pop culture since birth, when he was christened John Paul in honor of The Beatles members John Lennon and Paul McCartney. As an artist, Kettman has included The Beatles among his art subjects.

His celebrity creations have garnered national attention and multiple awards.

“One of my greatest achievements was to create life-sized wooden cutouts of famous people. I’ve made 23 of these and have sold three of them to a private buyer,” Kettman said. “I had created a wooden cutout of Judy Garland, and she was on display at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., for a year. I’ve constructed two full-size displays of The Beatles, which took first place in a professional art contest in Chicago’s Fest for Beatles Fans.”

Kettman is a self-taught caricaturist and operates his business, Rtistik Creations, in Starved Rock Country. He primarily works with acrylic paint as a medium, but he experiments with a variety of canvases. He painted a portrait of Al Roker on a Dunkin Donuts coffee bean. His series of serial killer portraits are painted on cereal squares. A portrait of Frida Kahlo is on a tortilla chip. Even art utensils are fair game as a canvas – he carved a series of Mount Rushmore portraits in the tips of pencil lead.

One of the smallest canvases he frequently uses is a single grain of rice.

“I’m always in competition with myself to create very unique portrait art,” he said.

Kettman grew up in Streator. During grade school, his parents recognized his talent and enrolled him in private art lessons. He discovered his love of cartoon and caricature illustration as a middle school student. Kettman continued taking lessons through high school and college, but his passion took a back seat after he moved to the northwest suburbs to work as a machinist.

In 2005, Kettman’s dedication to his art was rekindled. It has burned brightly ever since.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

DETAILS OF JOHN KETTMAN’S WORK

To view more of John Kettman’s art, follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ RtistikCreationsByJohnKettman. Inquiries about purchasing one of his works can be emailed to rtist33@hotmail.com.

1. Trumpkin and Bidekin: acrylic on pumpkins

2. Portrait of Frida Kahlo: acrylic on nacho chip, $500

3. Mt. Rushmore: carving on pencil lead using dental cleaning tools under microscope, $600 for set