John Borromeo is an artist and personal trainer based in the San Francisco Bay Area whose practice is built on a single instinct: genuine curiosity about people. He approaches every project by understanding the person first, their motivations, their environment, and what they are truly trying to express. Whether working on a large-scale mural, developing a digital illustration, or coaching a client toward a personal goal, John leads with listening. He believes the most meaningful work begins long before anything is made.

Meet The Artist

Altamont General Store Mural

Contributing artist alongside lead artist Tyler Ann, Summer 2024. John was invited to participate in a commissioned mural project for the Altamont General Store in Occidental, California, a woman-owned community space opening a new outdoor patio. The project spanned five surfaces including exterior walls and signage. John contributed large-scale floral compositions and fine detail work across multiple surfaces. Shown here with the artist's permission.

Porodomo Concept Art

Porodomo began as a conversation. A friend was developing a concept for a game built around the experience of waiting, and needed a visual language to anchor the idea. John worked with them to translate that feeling into an image, arriving at the Pomodoro timer as both subject and symbol. The piece functions as concept art, an attempt to give form to something that had not yet been seen. It is an example of the kind of work John finds most meaningful: starting with someone else's idea, asking the right questions, and finding the image that makes it real.

John's current practice is focused on staying loose and building efficiency. Working from general shapes and broad color fields before committing to detail allows him to render more honestly and make stronger compositional decisions early. The timelapse below documents this process from initial sketch through final rendering.

Timelapse

Paint Nights

These pieces were made at hosted paint night events, three-hour social gatherings where creativity and community come first. Working quickly across mixed media and a range of subjects, each evening is an exercise in spontaneity and joy. The time constraint is the challenge, and the people around you are the inspiration.

Whiteboards

John creates small works of art for the shared spaces of the people around him. Whiteboards in work environments become seasonal scenes, personal references, and quiet gestures of attention. These pieces are made for specific people in specific moments, and that specificity is the point.

Past Works

A collection of work gathered across different years, mediums, and moments. Some pieces were made for others, some were made to learn, and some simply needed to exist. Taken together they reflect a practice that is always moving, always curious, and always in conversation with something or someone.