Dr. John McCuin, an artist from Oklahoma City, who now resides in Dallas, Texas, works in oils to create realistic still life, figurative, and portrait paintings. Inspired by 19th century academic painters, contemporary representational painters, and abstract painters of the past century, John strives to combine the compositional impact of strong nonobjective work with technical virtuosity. Influenced by his training as a physicist, Dr. McCuin paints trompe l’oeil pieces that entertain the mind’s eye as it seeks to unravel the illusion created by methodical mastery.
As seen in his work displayed at Lovett’s Gallery, Dallas Baptist University, and private collections, John strives to create art that engages the viewer through captivating content, expressive handling, beautiful composition, and technical rigor. He explores ideas through a visual narrative that uses objects as symbols, while striving to maintain beauty in design.
In addition to exhibitions at Lovett’s Gallery, the Fort Worth Cultural Arts Center, and Dallas Baptist University, John has exhibited in a number of juried exhibitions in Dallas, such as the Texas and Neighbors Regional Art Exhibition, where “Transience I” won the IAC Award of Excellence (the second highest award in the show). Additionally, “Trump L’oeil” and “Transience I” were selected as finalists in the Art Renewal Center’s International Salon, one of the world’s most prestigious realist art competitions. Dr. McCuin is a professor who teaches art at Dallas Baptist University.
In spite of life's busiest moments, art has always called me. Primarily, I love art because I love beauty. Even when composing work meant to communicate specific content or emote a given feeling, beauty is the one constant. Regarding the technical side of constructing art, there is a dynamic tension between my analytical perfectionism and my desire for expressive release. I love creating and will never stop.
Education
PhD in Physics - 2011 - Texas Tech Univeristy
MS in Physics - - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BS in Physics and Mathematics - 1998 - Oklahoma Baptist University
Publications
McCuin, John & Bloom, Mark & Koehler, Catherine. (2018). The Flipped Classroom and Conceptually Challenging Science Content. 10.4324/9781351263689-18.
McCuin, John & Hayhoe, Katharine & Hayhoe, Douglas. (2014). Comparing the Effects of Traditional vs. Misconceptions-Based Instruction on Student Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect. Journal of Geoscience Education. 62. 445-459. 10.5408/13-068.1.
“Measuring the effect of misconceptions instruction on the acquisition of fundamental physics concepts involved in the greenhouse effect” - 2011 - Dissertation, Texas Tech University
Presentations
“Quantum Computing: Untangling the Confusion” - September 2, 2020 - Webinar, Graduate School of Business, Dallas Baptist University
“The Creation Mandate and the Sciences: A Panel Discussion” - February 16, 2018 - Friday Symposium, Dallas Baptist University
“Climate Change: How, Why, So What, and You“ - February 10, 2017 - Friday Symposium, Dallas Baptist University
“Barriers to Implementation: The State of Public Opinion“ - October 2016 - Presentation and Panel Discussion, Climate Change Summit, Tarrant County College
Keynote - “The Science of Climate Change“ - October 11, 2016 - Climate Change Summit, Tarrant County College
“Climate Measurement and Change Dynamics” - April 1, 2016 - Climate Symposium, Brookhaven College
“Climate Change Misconceptions: When Saying the Right Thing is Not Enough” - December 2014 - Poster Presentation - American Geophysical Union Annual Conference
"A Primer on Global Warming" - February 17, 2012 - Friday Symposium, Dallas Baptist University.
"A Primer on Climate Modeling" - September 30, 2011 - Friday Symposium, Dallas Baptist University
Certifications, Groups, and Other
Quantum Computing - Instructor Certification - Summer 2020 - IBM
Quantum Computing Challenge - Fall 2020 - IBM
Taught Quantum Computing Bootcamp - Fall 2020 - IBM and DBU
Instructional Development
YouTube Channel (coming)
Hundreds of Physics Instructional Videos
Online PHET Labs
Development of online classes for DBU