![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PRN-L-Linthurst-2.jpg\")
John Linthurst with \u201cRockin\u2019 the Fringe,\u201d an artwork set in 1976 for his exhibit \u201cGolden Age\u201d that can be seen in the Rancho Bernardo Library through March 26. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)<\/p>\nWhen John Linthurst was grounded as a child for \u201csome menial thing,\u201d he said his father would give him magazines to read so he could learn something of the world.<\/p>\n
But instead of just reading, he created collages from the images he found in publications such as Life and National Geographic magazines.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I would read them, but the pictures were more mesmerizing, and I began cutting the pictures out from one set and pasting them to another,\u201d Linthurst wrote on his website.<\/p>\n
Those youthful artistic choices stuck with Linthurst, now 71, and led to the creation of 52 artworks that he has collectively dubbed \u201cGolden Age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through March 26, the Rancho Bernardo Library will have a free exhibit of 23 of those collage-inspired art pieces along the second-floor hallway at 17110 Bernardo Center Drive. The exhibit can be seen during library hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cGolden Age\u201d is a cultural spoof of the more affluent societies in post-World War II, primarily the 1950s, \u201860s and \u201970s. To create his scenario collages, Linthurst used vintage paper dolls, plastic Barbie dolls and sewing pattern images from those decades to create social landscapes.<\/p>\n
Many of the doll images are placed in outdoor settings for pool parties and other swanky locales.<\/p>\n
John Linthurst with \u201cRockin\u2019 the Fringe,\u201d an artwork set in 1976 for his exhibit \u201cGolden Age\u201d that can be seen in the Rancho Bernardo Library through March 26. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born in the \u201850s so this is a throwback project,\u201d Linthurst said, adding it will likely appeal more to older generations than those in Gen Z.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work in tangents,\u201d Linthurst said of his artistic pursuits. \u201cI work on a subject until I\u2019m exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGolden Age\u201d was his focus throughout 2024.<\/p>\n
After cutting out the images of people that he liked from sewing patterns and paper doll books, Linthurst said he assembled them in various ways until a storyline developed that fit in a setting often based on landscape photos he has taken. Many are in Southern California, others are in the Anza-Borrego Desert or at a tennis club in La Jolla.<\/p>\n
Linthurst, a trained photographer, said taking photos is just documenting the reality of a place, while using his photos to create something new is more enjoyable and meaningful.<\/p>\n
Using sewing patterns, especially the vintage McCall\u2019s and Simplicity ones, is also a way to acknowledge the work of unknown artists who drew the images. Starting in the \u201870s, Linthurst said pattern companies moved toward using photography to illustrate how the clothing could look with their patterns.<\/p>\n
To obtain the sewing pattern packaging, Linthurst turned to thrift stores and eBay. Due to their original sizes, the initial images were of poor quality and pixelated, he said. So to create his 18-inch by 24-inch and 24-inch by 36-inch final art works from those that start at around 13 inches by 19 inches he had to \u201creconstitute\u201d them through drawing and painting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI blow them up to scale \u2026 then use my painting skills to paint with oil to redraw the outlines,\u201d he said about the time-consuming process.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I am working on them I match an environment to the doll, the story creeps up on (me) \u2026 and arrives as the piece nears completion,\u201d he said. \u201cThey end up being one-frame cartoons.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PRN-L-Linthurst-3.jpg\")
Four of the 23 artworks in John Linthurst\u2019s \u201cGolden Age\u201d series that uses vintage paper dolls and sewing pattern images as inspiration on exhibit in the Rancho Bernardo Library. (Elizabeth Marie Himchak)<\/p>\n
Linthurst said the storylines he creates end up being a \u201cwry social commentary\u201d on affluent societies of those eras.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a division between the classes of those who have money versus those who don\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to see art as an interaction,\u201d Linthurst said, adding that some of his most poignant pieces are those with just a few dolls in the scene.<\/p>\n
In one of those pieces titled \u201cThe Widow,\u201d a woman is looking back \u2014 toward the viewer \u2014 with her feet dangling in a swimming pool and the sunset behind her. Linthurst said the piece is among those that depict \u201cmoments of reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGolden Age\u201d has been exhibited at the Encinitas City Hall, The Studio Door Hillcrest and Oceanside Museum of Art. This is the first time Linthurst, an Oceanside resident, has exhibited at the Rancho Bernardo Library. Linthurst said he applied to exhibit through the San Diego Public Library about a year ago and requested the RB Library because he thought its patrons would be a good fit for the exhibit\u2019s theme.<\/p>\n
His artwork is for sale. For prices, ask the library staff.<\/p>\n
Linthurst started his art career as a young man, but shelved it for several decades. He grew up in Altadena and completed the Photo Arts program at Pasadena City College. He did additional photography studies at California State University Fullerton, where he majored in American Studies through its English department.<\/p>\n
Despite his studies, Linthurst said he ended up working at Bank of America and obtained his real estate license. But in 2010 his teenage daughter was in a serious car accident that almost took her life. She survived, but the ordeal prompted Linthurst to reevaluate his life. He decided to step away from real estate and pursue his first loves of photography and creating art.<\/p>\n
\u201cKen Burns was an influence on me because his art deals with history, the American experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Aside from photography, his other artistic skills are largely self-taught and learned through his interactions with other artists, he said.<\/p>\n
Linthurst\u2019s latest project is tissue art, a medium he learned about through an artist he met during the Art Walk in Little Italy.<\/p>\n
To see more of Linthurst\u2019s work, visit his website, studiovistadelmar.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When John Linthurst was grounded as a child for \u201csome menial thing,\u201d he said his father would give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[59218,79309,62536,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-163929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-free-art-exhibits-in-san-diego","tag-john-linthurst","tag-rancho-bernardo-library","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}