John K. Lawson was born in Birmingham, England, in 1962 and raised mostly in the countryside until his family moved to South London when he was a young teenager. He first came to America on a student exchange program in engineering at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. There his artistic abilities were encouraged, and he returned to England two years later to concentrate on landscape painting. Eventually, Lawson was drawn back to the Deep South, and soon became part of an underground art culture in New Orleans that included working in tattoo, T-shirt and mural designs long before these mediums became mainstream. Lawson also became known for his unique drawing style and creations using discarded Mardi Gras beads. He covered mannequins, pianos, and drums with intricate bead work, including a fifty-three-foot-long bar top at the notorious artists’ haven, the Audubon Hotel. Since Hurricane Katrina, Lawson divides his time between studios in New York City and Great Barrington. [Retrieved 11/30/23 from https://goodpurpose.org/john-lawson-retrospective/]