Chumash illustrator John Khus highlights cultural heritage, fight for social justice with colorful imagery

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 A faceless Statue of Liberty with flowing, black hair dons a colorful array of Indigenous tattoos. The white “Be Human” book she holds in her right hand matches the shackle around her left ankle, chaining her to the pile of skulls on which she stands.

Her blank head looks back at the viewer, while her naked, Rubenesque body faces the U.S. Capitol, which is turning into an army of police drones flashing red and blue lights. The abendrot sky surrounding the drones abruptly turns to a mix of indigo, burgundy, vermilion, and marigold as the body of water that separates her from the Capitol reflects a rainbow.

Central Coast Chumash artist John Khus has been depicting Native imagery for more than four decades. Known for his black-and-white illustrations that combine several ideas, reactions, cultural images, and parts of a story into one image, he enjoys making political statements with his art.

“I named that piece Be Human because I don’t think that there’s anything more radical someone can do than just be human,” Khus said. “Once you’re human, you recognize the value of other humans, and you don’t keep silent.”

While he likes to play with color for special projects, Khus said he feels most comfortable drawing with pen on paper. He said he started drawing because his mom would carry legal pads and pens while attending law school in San Francisco during his youth in the ’70s.

Instead of accepting a scholarship from the San Francisco Art Institute, Khus joined the military after high school. Influenced by uncles who fought in Korea and Vietnam, he served three years in the Marine Corps and three years in the Army from 1983 to 1989, going to Panama for jungle survival training with the 82nd Airborne Division right before Operation Just Cause, the United States’ invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989.

“I still did art when I was in the military,” Khus said. “When I was out in the field, I’d take every opportunity to sketch and draw.”

Pieces like Pig Gunner showcase his preferred pen-on-paper style and his turbulent time in the armed forces.

Coined during the Vietnam War to describe soldiers who carry the M60 machine gun—which earned the nickname due to its heavy weight—Khus’ pig gunner stands on a body of screaming helmeted skulls mashed together with soldiers, bullets, guns, knives, flames, and a fighter plane. His blank, white eyes and eerie smile highlight the annihilation and suffering captured in the piece.

Another political drawing, Khus’ Election [on stolen land] Day shows a man without skin on his face holding his left eyeball in his hand as blood with the words “obey” and “consume” spill from his socket and gums, respectively.

Khus’ Semper Fidelis illustration, a tribute to his time in the Marine Corps, depicts a spirit of resistance and cultural preservation.

In it, Khus reimagined the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, to depict Indigenous Americans raising a flag that says “Native,” while standing on a bed of rock that reads: “the land,” “the people,” and “our future.”

Always thinking of his Native heritage, Khus loves to include specific, little-known cultural references in his work. His Hatuey Ascended to the Ancestors by Refusing the Lies piece reimagines the tale of the rebellious Indigenous chief burned at the stake.

After initially struggling with whether to depict Chumash rock art in his illustrations, Khus said his mother told him to design his own. His Modern Rock Artist depicts a traditional Chumash cave painter wearing the suit of a present-day businessman.

“If I ever wear a suit, view it as the chains of colonial society and count me amongst the dead. It will never happen again,” Khus wrote in an Instagram post sharing the piece. 

“Stay strong. Stay free. Stay human,” his post continued.

Embodying the collective spirit of his Chumash ancestors, Khus also creates illustrations to give back to his Central Coast community.

In August 2023, he designed the Tomol Rides Wishtoyo mural at the Cambria Post Office with the help of Beautify Cambria and the local Chumash community.

A Chumash elder watches human spirits in a traditional tomol, or canoe, pass over the Wishtoyo, also known as the rainbow bridge, to join their ancestors. Along with the black-and-white rock painting and violet swordfish, Chumash symbols speckle the mural, depicting spirits like the indigo chief carrying a child in her womb, blue moon, yellow sun, green lizard chief, orange grandfather, and red artist.

In April 2024, Khus unveiled his mural collaboration with the SLO Beaver Brigade at what’s now known as the Central Coast Zoo in Atascadero.

Three beavers sit at the grassy center of the painting divided into thirds by wooden dam partitions. The waterway and sunrise scenes beside them include a monarch butterfly, flame skimmers, a pelican, frogs, bass, and a lizard.

Last December, Khus curated the first Indigenous DNA: Decolonized Native Art exhibit in Santa Barbara, hosting dozens of local native artists’ pieces in the Olson Gallery of the Santa Barbara Community Arts Workshop for a week. He said he’s currently working on putting together a second exhibit for later this year.

“When I was growing up and looking out at the world, I realized [we] humans have an obligation to be a beneficial part of it,” Khus said. “Those encouragements come from my Chumash background.”

Reach Staff Writer Reece Coren at rcoren@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Jul 10-20, 2025.