John Ropp is the president of John E. Ropp Art Studio. He formerly had an advertising business in Riverside, but recently decided to concentrate on art and moved to his Southside home.
WHAT GENRE OF ART DOES HE PRODUCE?
Brushing a broad stroke over mediums, Ropp is adept in black and white line art, watercolor, murals, oil on canvas paintings, pencil and historical drawings. Offices and homes are also duplicated for use as invitations or other printing purposes.
FAMILIAR SITES
Ropp has created two-dimensional reproductions of landmarks such as the Bedell Building, San Marco Square, Riverside Presbyterian Church and stately homes such as the Shands house and the home of Ed and Helen Lane.
GOING OUT WITH A BANG
On his list of credits are nine Gator Bowl program covers. “The last one I did [1978] was the one when Ohio State came here and got beat by Clemson. Woody Hayes [Ohio State’s football coach] hit the boy right in front of us. That was his last game; that was my last program.”
EDUCATION
Sandwiched between his extracurricular focus on playing baseball, Ropp received his initial formal instruction in art from the Ohio University. His dreams of becoming a professional baseball player fizzled though, and two years later he transferred to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. to finish his art degree. Coaching little league at NAS Jax was as close as he got to the majors.
WHY PURSUE A CAREER IN ART?
“When I got out of the service I went back to Ohio and my high school teacher told me that I should go to Pratt Institute. I was always able to draw. It’s something I can do. A lot of guys retire and don’t know what to do. They play golf or cards but I think that’s a waste of time. I enjoy doing it. Really, it’s a livelihood. I think it’s healthier to have something to do that you enjoy that occupies time and you can make some money at it, too. I plan on painting as long as I live — as long as I can hold a pen, a pencil and a brush. There’s no reason to stop.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT IT?
“Hard work. Ten percent talent and 90 percent perseverance. You’ve got to work at it. When I was in New York, a lot of my graduate buddies were a lot better than I was but never went as far as I did because they didn’t work at it. They get tired of it and start doing something else. It takes time to do these things. I spend weeks and months on some jobs. This is sporadic; it depends on the materials coming in.”
HOW DO YOU KEEP THE CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING?
“I’ll get in my car and start driving around and I’ll see something and write it down and say ‘that’s paintable; that’s a scene.’ I love the beauty of pictures.’”
HOMETOWN
Mansfield, Ohio.
BACK BEFORE IT WAS THE AIR FORCE
During World War II, Ropp served three years in the Army Air Corps, flying B25s all over the world but mainly in the Pacific. While he was in the service, Ropp drew portraits of his military buddies.
SIDETRACKED
After graduating from Pratt, Ropp was offered a position in the art department at the then-new Disneyland working on cartoon cells. On the cross-country trip from the Big Apple to California he detoured to Jacksonville to visit a friend and never left.
GLORY DAYS
“I came to Jacksonville in 1955 from New York. I worked up there as an illustrator for magazines and books. I got tired of the big city and came south. The downtown in the old days was really nice with the old George Washington Hotel and Mayflower Hotel and a place called Leb’s [the old deli on Adams Street]. I saw this sleepy little town and I just fell in love with it. I started freelancing. Prudential was instrumental in making me stay here. I knew the art director and he started giving me work.”
FROM ART TO ADVERTISING
“I decided to get in the agency business because I was doing a lot of work with a lot of people. They were getting the work and I was losing a commission so I started doing ads for people. Art studios are just art work but if you get an agency, you get a commission. I decided since I was doing ads for local people, and they didn’t have an agency, I opened John Ropp Advertising Agency. Television had just started coming to Jacksonville in 1955. Ch. 4 was the first one and it was open a year before I got here. There weren’t but three or four agencies here then. I started mine before Bill Cook [the William Cook Agency, once the city’s biggest.]”
FULL CIRCLE
After 40-plus years in the advertising racket, Ropp decided to go back to his first love four years ago. “I wanted to do this [art] only. I don’t want to fool with the agency business so I canceled my corporation and started my studio again. I get my customers by referrals; I do very little advertising mainly because people know me.”
FAMILY
Married over 40 years to Louise, an English literature teacher at The Bolles School, Ropp lives in a subdivision across from Epping Forest. The couple have four grown children, Willson, Katharine, Ella and Adams, plus eight grandchildren. None of his offspring reside in Jacksonville.
TIES TO THE COMMUNITY
Ropp is an honorary life member of both the Exchange Club and The Florida Yacht Club. He is also a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, having served on the vestry in the past, and the Ponte Vedra Club.
HOBBIES
When he sets his palette down, Ropp is taking in a classic film, traveling, reading religious materials, golfing or tuning into an Atlanta Braves baseball game.
Other entertainment outlets include catching repeats of “The Andy Griffith Show,” the History Channel or adding to his video collection of war movies.
—by Monica Chamness