John Salminen teaches Master Classes in design and watercolor painting. Workshops are chosen to be part of the MASTER'S SERIES based on their exceptionally high design and thinking content. Salminen emphasizes strong design in his paintings. He manipulates color and value, even in his complex city-scapes, to improve the image. When needing to push an area back or add additional value to a detailed dark area, he prefers to spray the area with color using a mouth atomizer rather that run a wash.

John Salminen is a highly regarded master instructor, and has won numerous awards for his mixed media abstract paintings and complex city-scapes. While perhaps best known for his realistic urban landscapes, Salminen is also highly acclaimed for his mixed media abstract paintings.

Salminen has also gained increasing recognition for his mixed media abstract paintings, one of which won first place in Artist's Magazine's 2000 Art competition in the experimental category judged by Edward Betts. He served as judge of the experimental category for the Artist Magazine's 2005 Competition.

John Salminen is a signature member of eleven (11) watercolor societies, including the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Watercolor USA Honor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and Watercolor West. In addition, he has been honored with "Master" status in the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and inclusion in the American Watercolor Society's Dolphin Fellowship.

Salminen has won numerous awards in national and international exhibitions, including several major awards from the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, New England Watercolor Society, Watercolor USA, and Watercolor West. In 2005, he was awarded the first place award in both the National Watercolor Society Exhibition and Watercolor West.

John Salminen’s work has been exhibited in the National Academy show in New York. He served as a juror of selection for the American Watercolor Society's 2000 and 2003 Exhibitions and the National Watercolor Society's 2003 Show. He served as an awards judge for the 2005 American Watercolor Exhibition. In 2006 he was awarded the Gold Medal at the American Watercolor Society-139th International Exhibition. Salminen's work has been featured in several books and in many national and international magazines, including American Artist's Watercolor Magazine, Artist's Magazine, Watercolor Magic and International Artist.

John Salminen lives with his wife Kathy in northern Minnesota on 40 acres of wilderness. When asked why he paints urban scenes and not wilderness he replies, “It is impossible to improve on the beauty already there.”

John Salminen has two watercolor DVD workshops with Creative Catalyst Productions, A Designed Approach to Abstraction and Urban Landscape in Watercolor.