The Hamilton Family Artists
John Hamilton
(1926-1990)
John was more than an artist; he was a true Renaissance man—a character infused with sparkling enthusiasm, a luminous sense of humor, and a broad field of knowledge in art, history, aesthetics, myth and philosophy. His spirit was unbridled, reflecting a rare hunger for seeing and understanding the world.
In his studio, adorned in his usual blue denim overalls, John sought to synthesize the poetic, the mystical, and the shapes of his imagination. He aimed to give form to the formless, inviting us into seldom reached realms and rhythms of being. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1926, he witnessed America emerging from the Great Depression. At 18, he joined the Coast Guard during WWII, a period that obviously tested his sensitive nature but did not break his stride as an artist.
After an honorable discharge in 1946, John studied art at Reed College in Oregon, where he met his future wife, Marilyn. The couple eloped to New York, and John attended the Ozanfant School of Fine Art. Later the couple moved to the Bay Area and John earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art at San Francisco State. He leased a studio space and founded an experimental artists collective known as the S.F. Graphic Arts Foundation, while teaching liberal arts for twelve years in the San Francisco Unified School District before relocating to the California Foothills in 1970.
After building his studio In Auburn, John taught printmaking at Sierra College, sustaining a generation of artists with his limitless encouragement. Balancing his art, teaching, and fatherhood, he pursued his art full-time in 1981, concentrating on printmaking and painting. He also relentlessly wrote letters to foundations and engaged with other artists in the effort to secure funding for new artists’ guilds and new suites of prints combined with the publication of poetry.
John’s art has been exhibited in Japan, Hong Kong, Oregon, Spain, The Oakland Museum, the Philippines, Hawaii, and is part of collections at Chase Manhattan Bank of New York, Boston Museum of Art, City and County of San Francisco and the Xerox and IBM Collections respectively.
After losing a battle to lung cancer, John passed in 1990. Hamilton’s works are timeless however, and his legacy lives on in a vast body of work that continues to inspire to this day.
Marilyn Hofmann-Hamilton
(1928–2003)
Marilyn Jeanne Hofmann-Hamilton, a luminary personality born to Swiss immigrant parents in 1928, in the idyllic landscapes of La Grande, Oregon, embodied a life woven with creativity, resilience, and a profound connection to nature. Raised on a farm without the modern conveniences of electricity or refrigeration, Marilyn’s childhood unfolded amidst trees and meadows, reading books voraciously and enjoying the company of farm animals and wildlife. She often recounted riding her favorite horse to school and back, sometimes with her loving sister Heidi.
After graduating from High School, Marilyn began to concentrate on art at the Reed College for Liberal Arts in Portland. It was there that she encountered John Hamilton, a fellow artist, fresh from fighting in the Second World War, who would become her life partner. Their shared passion for art led them to New York, where John pursued courses at the Ozenfant School while Marilyn engaged in painting and wood block printing. Her fastidious attention to detail also served her for ten years while doing clerical work for Prudential Life Insurance.
The couple later returned to the West Coast, settling in San Francisco. While John acquired his teaching credentials, Marilyn dedicated herself to creating her prints and paintings, all while nurturing their growing family.
In 1971, the couple sought a more rural and artistic lifestyle, relocating to the foothills. Marilyn’s community engagement extended to volunteering at a local elementary school, a commitment that earned her the dedication of the school library. Amidst her roles as a devoted mother and volunteer, Marilyn found time to embark on an ambitious project—hand-printing over 300 pages for an illustrated cookbook filled with cherished family recipes. This endeavor showcased her multifaceted talents, encompassing not only visual arts but also a deep appreciation for culinary traditions.
Beyond her domestic pursuits, Marilyn’s artistic spirit thrived. She painted portraits, scrolls, watercolors, and oil paintings, generously imparting art lessons when time allowed. In collaboration with her dear friend Jamey Francis, she co-founded Forest Ornaments in the late seventies, bringing to life hundreds of enchanting hand-made characters for over the course of a decade.
Even as the sands of time moved inexorably, Marilyn’s zest for life persisted. She journeyed to China twice in 1980’s after the country’s normalization and continued to create art until her passing from cancer in 2003. Marilyn was a woman of immense talent and charm, and her legacy lives on through her artwork, a timeless source of joy for those fortunate enough to own a piece of her creative spirit.
Darien Hamilton
 
Darien was born in San Francisco into an artistic family and was often given drawing tablets to fill with imaginative scenes of fire engines, ships, rockets, and cowboys. Later, the family moved to the Gold Country and his explorations and play would lead him to build his own hand-made props, paint airbrushed portraits, signage and fluorescent banners. Soon after attending Sacramento State University and City College of San Francisco he moved his own fledgling family to the most remote American island group: Hawaii. There he worked as an art director, sculptor and painter for three different themed event businesses by night while repairing office copiers during the day.
When the Convention Industry dried up, Darien moved to Los Angeles in 1999. Once there he immediately found work as a scenic artist creating enchanting sets and displays for Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. Side jobs also included sculpting positives for over the head Halloween masks and painting floats for parades and videos.
A family medical emergency necessitated a move back to the California foothills. After remodeling his childhood home he has been able to concentrate on pursuing his art full time. His explorations with oil and acrylic painting, airbrushing and more have been leading him to public art, portrait commissions, a web store, and more.
“I’m enjoying recycling the works of the masters: Picasso, Da Vinci, Botticelli, etc. I examine their techniques and genius brushstrokes and lay down layers of tinted glazes in an effort to repurpose their imagery. I poke fun at our current culture at the expense of the Italian Renaissance, the Cubists and other major art movements. If I provoke my audience to think about our current political, social and technological climate while humoring them–then I have succeeded.”
Currently, he and his beautiful wife make a point of traveling once a year to captivating destinations such as Alaska, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and to Europe to visit their daughter and son-in-law living in Italy. Darien seeks out inspiration from these excursions and proudly holds the title of resident artist at both the Persimmon Gallery and Auburn Old Town Gallery in Auburn, California, where his work continues to amuse and captivate.