Although best known as a landscape painter of the American Southwest, John Hilton was a man of many talents.  Among his many  skills, Hilton was a naturalist, a biologist and botanist, a much sought after jewelry designer for the Hollywood elite in the twenties, a gemologist of international repute, a southern California desert guide for General Patton, a miner and prospector, the author of several books and a musician.  Of all his talents, he is best known as the "Man Who Captured Sunshine" referring to his remarkable skills as a desert landscape artist.

After suffering the loss of his job during the depression, he moved his wife Eunice and small son to the Coachella Valley. Soon after a friend who owned a date shop (Valerie Jean's) in Thermal convinced Hilton to open