World-renowned artist John Moffitt will headline the ARTree’s Speaker Series with a talk at The MAIN on Main Street in Old Town Newhall on Thursday, July 27 starting at 7 p.m.

The artistic encounter is free and open to the public.

A student of art from an early age, Southern California native John Moffitt took up painting after leaving college in 1969. By the early 1970s his exhibited oil paintings were winning awards in both traditional and modern categories and his tromp l’oeil or surrealistic styled works were added to area collections.

Over the decades, Moffitt has honed his crafts as a fine artist, muralist, illustrator and scenic artist, always exhibiting a masterful handling of draftsmanship and the tools of the trade.

His interest in large-scale painting led him to the motion picture industry in 1975 where he worked as a motion picture scenic artist. He created hundreds of monumental landscapes and cityscape backdrops as well as murals, fine art and portraiture for films and television.

From “Goonies” to “Ghostbusters,” the “Lethal Weapon” series, the “Batman” series and the “Ironman” series to “Benjamin Button,” Moffitt’s artwork has graced the big screen, his work often “hidden in plain sight.”