Swan turned his passion for painting and fishing into a lifestyle that took him all over the world. Growing up in Maine, he was introduced to fly fishing at an early age on the Rangeley Lakes, where his grandparents owned a cabin. When he would visit, he would watch his grandmother paint and soon began to follow in her footsteps. Painting became a natural outlet for John to capture the natural beauty of his surroundings and express the tranquility he experiences when fishing."Through fly fishing, I developed a deep appreciation for nature and the outdoors, and as my interest in painting evolved, the profoundly beautiful landscapes of Rangeley became an integral part of my work." John has traveled all over the world to fish and paint his adventures. "I paint wherever I can fish," he admitted. His favorite place to visit was the Bahamas, where he spent his winters painting and bonefishing on the flats. One of America's prominent sporting and wildlife artists, Swan was equally adept in watercolor and oils. When in the north, he tended to use more oil paints, but when in the Bahamas, he worked strictly in watercolor. The translucency perfectly captures the colors of the shallow water and sun-drenched islands. What John loved most about the Bahamas was the people: "Bahamians are gentle, easy-going people who appreciate the slower pace of life on the islands." During his visits, he took time away from fishing to paint the locals going about their daily lives. While he often included figures in his fishing scenes, these were the only figurative portraits he was compelled to paint. In the 1980s, after attending the University of New Hampshire, John was primarily a local Maine painter of indigenous rural landscapes. This was until one of his first fly fishing pieces was featured on the cover of Gray's Sporting Journal. His Sporting Art garnered a number of awards and accolades, including solo shows at The American Museum of Fly Fishing and with King Galleries in New York. John was recognized as Artist of the Year three times with the Atlantic Salmon Federation and as the 1987 Ducks Unlimited International Artist of the Year. He was considered one of the foremost Sporting Artists of his generation.