John Cassidy was born in Peoria, IL on July 8, 1964 and passed on February 17, 2017. Friend and fellow artist, Matt states, “He was the definition of the Bohemian Artist, living in his studio at 510 E. Washington #224, Bloomington, Illinois for over 20 years, constantly learning, always turning his feelings and views into works of art. He worked at the best used bookstore in town (now gone), and the best video store in town (also gone) while spending all his money on art materials, books, music, and films. His great friend and fellow painter Roger Harris once told him, ‘You’re doing two things right- you don’t live under a viaduct, and you don’t pay utilities’ as keys to a successful Art Bum existence. He worked in a wide variety of two-dimensional media which became drawings and paintings of still lives, portraits, abstractions, and Landstractions- or what I call views of John’s World. He was continuously trying to cure or release the madness within his day or show us the beauty we may be missing in our surroundings. If you visited his studio, he would be either playing incredible music, a most interesting film, or reading a book you should be. He had a dark sense of humor that routinely came out in his booming voice and his canvas, board, or paper and always lifted my spirit.”