Westport Book Shop Welcomes Local Artist John Bygott for June Art Exhibit

The Westport Book Shop is pleased to welcome local artist John Bygott as guest exhibitor for the month of June at the Book Shop's Drew Friedman Art Place. John is exhibiting a selection of his oil paintings of seascapes.

“In my work I strive to share with the viewer a snapshot of my inspiration.  I have always been fascinated by the horizon, the relationship between the vast expanse of sky above and the great earth we inhabit below,” John said.

“I find peace and tranquility in the great expanse of sky. Clouds are forever changing and dancing throughout the landscape and have long been a favorite and inspiring subject matter. Painting primarily in oil I strive to share my experience of space in wide open vistas. My work is not about perfection, nor realism, but rather an impression.”

John is originally from Fairfield CT, and has lived in New York City, Provincetown, Massachusetts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.  For 25 years, his career was interior design, but he has also worked in or managed art galleries for over thirty years, including, during the 1980s, serving as director of his own art gallery in Westport, the Saugatuck Gallery, where he represented close to thirty regional New England artists, including Barbara Grey, Gay Schempp, Juliet Holland, Christopher Terry, Barbara Lans and Marjorie Sopkin. "It was a wonderful

experience and a wonderful time in my life, but I never showed my own work. In this period of my life I was not painting. I was selling other people’s art," John remarked. He went on to manage several home furnishing stores in Westport.

For seven years, he lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, selling art as director and manager of several galleries there. Eventually, he felt the pull back to the ocean, and he relocated to the east coast of Florida. "Big sky over a big ocean. But eventually the draw to return to New England was

too great and I moved back to Connecticut three years ago, settling in Black Rock. Where once again I have my horizon line, where the sky meets the earth, clouds dance and the water is vast and always changing. My fascination with the horizon, clouds and the ocean are my constant source of inspiration," John said. After not painting for twenty five years, John picked up pastels about 20 years ago, eventually moving to oils.

As to his choice of medium, John explains "I am most comfortable working in oils, though I may do under-painting in acrylic. I love the the smell, the creamy texture, the way it blends, the richness of

color and the endless possibilities of hue. Much of my work is done “alla-prima” or wet on wet, meaning that I am adding color and blending on the canvas rather than mixing all my color on a palette. I also incorporate many layers of paint, as washes of color, and I never paint on a white canvas. I lay a base color of blacks, greys or blues. These background colors allow me to achieve depth and texture, particularly when I use a “dry brush” technique. I often hear that my work is

soothing, calming and serene. I consider that to be a tremendous compliment."

John is a graduate of Paier College of Art in New Haven, CT, having studied fine art, advertising, graphic design and interior design. Other studies have included silk screening at the Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT, studio painting at The SIlvermine School, and studio life classes at the Cape Cod Conservatory of Art and Music. His artwork has been represented in galleries in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Mexico and Florida. John has been painting professionally for close to 20 years.

To see more of John's artwork visit his website at https://johnbygott.com/

The Westport Book Shop will hold a reception for John and this exhibit on Wednesday evening, June 17, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Space is limited; please RSVP to the Book Shop by phoning 203-349-5141 or sending an email to RSVP@westportbooksaleventures.org

John Bygott’s artwork will be on exhibit at the Westport Book Shop through June 30, 2026.  All artwork on display is available for purchase.

The art exhibit is open to the public during the Book Shop’s regular business hours: Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m.

Westport Book Shop, a nonprofit independent used book store, is downtown Westport’s only source for gently used and antiquarian books, vintage vinyl records, CDs and DVDs.  It is located at 23 Jesup Road, right across Jesup Green from The Westport Library.

The Book Shop’s “Drew Friedman Art Place” is a dedicated gallery space within the store that features the work of community artists, on a rotating basis; exhibits change monthly.  The exhibits are curated by Miggs Burroughs, a Trustee of the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center, and a founding member of The Artists Collective of Westport.