“Bjorkland’s works are full of spring sunshine, soft and caressing. Several of his landscapes are brown tone with just the faintest beginnings of spring green.”
“His paintings of lighthouses, beach scenes, street scenes, and flowers are rendered in beautiful tones of color with details that create a quiet design to compliment the color.”
Mr. Bjorkland studied at the Hartford Art School and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. After graduation he taught art at Clarion High School in Pennsylvania. George later moved to New Jersey and became a freelance illustrator. He started exhibiting his paintings in 1970 and since that time has won many awards including the following:
- Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit – Hors Concours (exhibitors designated
Hors Concours have achieved this honor by winning the first prize the
maximum number of times and are, therefore, no longer eligible for competition) - New Jersey Watercolor Society
- Winsor Newton Award
- Award of Excellence
- The Nat and Cole Lewis Award - Ocean City, N.J. Annual Art Show – Best in Show
- Bloomfield Art League – Best in Show
- City of Cape May, N.J. Annual Art Exhibit – 1st Prize
- South Orange Festival of Arts – 1st Prize
- Urban Farms Art Show – Special Award
- Fair Lawn Statewide Competition – 1st Prize
- Stratford, Ct. Art Show – 1st Prize
- Portland, Me. Art Festival – Purchase Award
- Ridgewood Art Institute Juried Show
– American Artists Professional League Award
– Betty Kaytes Floral Award
He has been an elected member of the New Jersey Watercolor Society since 1980 and has exhibited with the Golden Door Gallery, New Hope, PA; Paper Mill Playhouse Gallery, Millburn, NJ; Gallery 9, Chatham, NJ; Koyman Galleries, Canada; Summit Art Center; Fair Lawn Art Association; and the Columbian Foundation. He is also listed in American Artists of Renown.
Mr. Bjorkland’s paintings are found in many private collections including that of Mrs. Robert Lehman of the Lehman collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Among the many banks and corporations owning Mr. Bjorkland’s works are: First Federal Savings of Miami; Atlantic National Bank of Winter Park, Florida; First Fidelity Bancorporation; the Morgan Guaranty Trust, New York; Hunterdon Medical Center, NJ; the Hershey Corporation, Pennsylvania; the Sears executive offices in Chicago; and the Zurich Insurance Company of Canada.