Independent Arts News Reporting “Phillips’ Mill in Winter” by Erwinna Artist John Kane Selected as the Signature Image for the 97th Annual Juried Art Show at Phillips’ Mill
Reported on Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Pictured Above: Phillips’ Mill in Winter. Photo Credit: John Kane.
NEWRSOOM POST: NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA
The historic Newtown Theatre will screen its annual series of free kids’ movies this summer on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 a.m
New Hope, PA — The Art Committee at Phillips’ Mill Community Association announced the selection of “Phillips’ Mill in Winter” by Erwinna artist John Kane as the signature image for its 97th Juried Art Show at Phillips’ Mill scheduled for September 26 – November 1, 2026.
Each year a new signature image—an artistic representation of the historic Phillips’ Mill—is selected from works submitted by artists living within a 25-mile radius of the Mill who compete for this honor. The selected image is used on marketing and advertising materials including posters, ads, invitations, postcards, social media, banners and more. The artwork is featured in the show and the winning artist receives a $500 honorarium.
John Kane, an artist and musician, has been part of the creative fabric of the Delaware River towns for more than three decades, balancing a lifelong passion for painting with an equally enduring love of music. He first showed work in the Phillips’ Mill juried show in the early 1990s and won the Paul and Harriet Gratz Award for painting in the New Hope Impressionist style. The signature image spotlights that Pennsylvania Impressionist style, and the vibrant color seen in much of his work. “Having my painting used as the Signature Image in the Phillips’ Mill show is very exciting,” Kane says.
Kane’s visual arts career began almost by chance during a trip to New York City in the late 1970s. While visiting the city with a bandmate for meetings with RCA Records, he met the woman who would become his wife, an accomplished illustrator. Watching her work inspired him to develop his own talents. After taking classes at the School of Visual Arts, Kane taught himself illustration techniques, including airbrushing, and quickly found success in the highly competitive New York advertising world. His first two illustration jobs became hand-painted billboards in Times Square for Yoplait yogurt and Sony tapes, back in the days before digital printing. “It was amazing to go downtown and see them painting my work on billboards,” he says.
From 1979 into the 1990s, Kane worked as a freelance illustrator in Manhattan, creating work for advertising agencies, publishers and record companies. Yet, even while building a successful commercial career, he maintained a deep love for landscape painting. He moved from New York City to Bucks County in the early 1990s and has immersed himself in the region’s artistic heritage, inspired by the beauty of the surrounding countryside and spending years painting outdoors throughout the Delaware River Valley.
Kane joins a stellar community of signature image artists including Jean Childs Buzgo, Patricia Allingham Carlson, Tom Gass, Joe Gyurcsak, Jay McPhillips, John C. Mertz, Pam Miller, Donna Ruane Rogers, Francisco Silva, Luiz Villela, and Steve Zazenski. Some of those images can be seen in the archives of past exhibitions on the Mill’s website at www.phillipsmill.org/art/art-exhibition-archives.
The artists’ prospectus for the 97th Juried Art Show at Phillips’ Mill is now available on the Mill’s website at phillipsmill.org. Submissions to the show will be accepted from July 26 – August 30, 2026.
Phillips’ Mill Community Association, recognized as the birthplace of Pennsylvania Impressionism, is housed in the historic 18th century gristmill that’s been its home since the organization was founded by William Lathrop, Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber, Fern Coppedge and their artist friends and colleagues. It is located just north of New Hope at 2619 River Road, New Hope, PA, 18938, (215) 882-0582, www.phillipsmill.org.
