John Bates is a self-taught contemporary artist based in Queens, New York, and the founder of Bater Designs. Raised just outside of Detroit, Michigan, his artistic journey has been shaped by a lifelong commitment to experimentation, observation, and emotional expression.

Early in his career, Bates became actively involved with Clarkston Cultural Arts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering local artists and strengthening community engagement through the arts. There, he exhibited and sold original works at art fairs and silent auctions, taught screen-printing workshops, and was recognized as the organization's 2016 Most Influential Artist Award. These experiences broadened his creaetive perspective and inspired his move to New York City, where he continues to refine and expand his artistic practice.

Working at the intersection of Abstract Realism, Contemporary Art, and Urban Aesthetics, Bates creates pieces that blur the line between representation an emotion. Drawing inspiration from original photography, hand-drawn sketches, and the quiet narratives found in everyday life, he transforms familiar subjects into expressive visual experiences.

His work explores themes of memory, identity, resilience, and human connection, inviting viewers to discover their own emotional interpretations within each composition.

Primary working in Acrylic, Watercolor, and Pand and Ink, Bates embraces a process that balances technical precision with intuitive mark-making. Whether creating commissioned works or developing personal collections, his goal reamins the same: to create art that is honest, emotionally resonant, and deeply personal.

As Bates explains, “I want my work to capture the emotions that words cannot- creating moments of connection through authenticity, vulnerability, and shared human experience.”