Our Story
KEEPING HISTORY ALIVE
for 30 years…
Liberty Studios, the primary publisher of the aviation & military art of John D. Shaw, was established in 1994 in the central California town of Clovis, an hour south of spectacular Yosemite National Park. John’s career in commercial illustration & graphic design took a major turn in the early ‘90s, as his interest in World War II aviation began growing. Inspired by the work of artists such as Robert Taylor & William S. Phillips, he volunteered to create aviation artwork to promote various WWII aviation events in the area.
When a local Military Museum located at a former wartime primary trainer base just outside Fresno, CA planned to host the legendary Doolittle Raiders in 1993, John volunteered to create what was to become his first major WWII aviation piece. He painted The Hornet’s Nest, to honor Doolittle's Raiders and raise funds for the museum. Following the success of this 1994 release, the enjoyment of working with these legendary veterans to create his paintings motivated John and his wife Keli to continue these Aviation Art endeavors by starting their own small publishing company. Thus was born Liberty Studios.
The love of this part of history and appreciation of those who made it, impelled John to research details of other great WWII units…legendary groups such as the AVG Flying Tigers, Black Sheep Squadron, Tuskegee Airmen, and 101st Airborne “Band of Brothers”, just to name a few, and establish relationships with many of its great representatives. People such as “Tex” Hill, Günther Rall, Don Blakeslee, Richard Winters and many others, would be instrumental in assuring historical accuracy of Shaw’s scenes as they’d develop from concept sketches to final brushstrokes. The resulting paintings, many of which would become quickly sold-out lithograph editions, have enjoyed worldwide acclaim, and now sell for very desirable prices on the Secondary Collector’s Market.
In addition to his art released through Liberty Studios, John has also created commissioned work for other publishers, organizations and individuals, involving historical personalities ranging from the original Mercury Astronauts to both Presidents George H.W. and George W.Bush. In the year 2000, the Shaws & Liberty Studios relocated to central Florida, continuing to publish not only multi-signature lithographs, but also a line of beautiful canvas giclée reproductions of many of John’s paintings, which are hand-retouched in oils, closely resembling the originals.
John Shaw’s work may be ordered directly from Liberty Studios, and is also available through many fine dealers throughout the U.S. and overseas.
About the artist, John Shaw
John D. Shaw was born in 1961, and was raised in Carson City, Nevada. From as far back as he can remember, he was interested in creating visually exciting artwork. By the early ‘80s, Shaw had moved to central California, where he began his career in Illustration & graphic design. During this time, he created a wide variety of commercial artwork for numerous clients, among them Lucasfilms, Major League Baseball, Kellogg’s, and many others. In 1986, he married a pretty blonde Floridian named Keli, and the Shaws were soon on their way to starting a family. By the early ‘90s, he entered work in the now-booming entertainment software industry, designing & illustrating a variety of fictional characters, backgrounds, vehicles, spaceships, weaponry, military designs, etc, as well as the storyboarding, packaging and marketing art for these products. Though enjoying this, Shaw began longing to take his work in a more serious and personal direction…highlighting America’s great veterans, with a special interest in World War II Aviation Art.
Shaw: “It was around 1992 that my interest in WWII aviation, which had been kind of lying dormant for years, just couldn’t be ignored any longer. My Dad had been just a bit too young to see combat in WWII and had joined the Navy shortly before it ended, with the hopes of being a naval aviator. His enthusiasm about the romance and adventure of those days had always stuck with me. I had recently been inspired for the first time by the beautiful paintings of artists like William S. Phillips, R.G. Smith, Robert Taylor and a few others. I feel as if a “still, small voice” was urging me to pursue this type of art myself, not only because of the images, but also for the chance to meet some of the amazing people who made this history, and possibly help to continue their legacy in some small way. I had little knowledge of the world of Aviation Art, let alone how to market it, but that was OK… at that point it was just a labor of love, and I had no idea where it might lead.
It’s been of my life's greatest privileges to have had the chance to work first-hand with some of my greatest heroes… Before starting a painting, I'd love getting their input after showing them rough pencil sketches. Often, when asking questions about their experiences, their recollections were helpful, but when shown an actual visual concept sketch to look at, that’s when great things would happen- things you’d never know just by reading a history book! The best part of all would be showing them a finished painting. So often, when seeing the painting, it’s as if a movie began playing behind their eyes, as they relived those days…suddenly they’d be 20 years old again… What a blessing it would be to often see tears in their eyes, amazed that people decades younger than them actually care and appreciate what they did all those years ago. Sad part is that so many of them have left us, and only a tiny handful remain today. As long as the Lord allows me, I want to keep their stories alive as best I can, and art is such a great vehicle to do it!”
Over the years, many of Shaw’s historical aviation and military scenes have become some of the industry’s most sought-after and valuable lithograph titles. They’ve found their way into homes, offices, museums throughout all 50 states & quite a number of foreign lands (one of the most remote of which is historic Wake Island). Originals and reproductions of his work are also on display in the Pentagon and in the collections of past US Presidents.