Born 1955, the first encounter with ‘serious art’ was through the efforts of his school art teacher, who recognised his unsuitability for sixth form education and nudged him in to Mansfield Art College, his formal education ending three years later when he opted not to take up the offer of a place on a BA Fine Art course at Kingston-upon-Hull, instead starting work as a designer/draughtsman of machine embroidery for a Nottingham firm of textile engineers.
Then in 1979 he began a 30 year career as a cartographic draughtsman for the British Geological Survey. In an environment now ruled by the keyboard and the mouse, John was fortunate to be trained in the use of pen and ink, and the discipline of making marks on paper in the correct place at the first attempt (usually). During this period he exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions of 1981 and 1991. Quitting employment by taking early retirement at the end of 2009.
Primarily a landscape painter, now working with acrylics on a cotton ground. Frequently seeking out subject matter near his home patch of the Vale of Belvoir and The Grantham Canal as well as further afield. Each picture developing as an exploration of the effect of placing colour over and against colour, as many others have done before. Often modifying and redefining the underlying motif. Having no desire to be an artist he is happy to be called a painter.
2005 marked his first inclusion in the annual Royal Miniature Society exhibition; 2006 brought his election to Associate Member and then full membership in 2011. Showing regularly at the RMS he took the Llewellyn Alexander Subject Miniature Award in 2013 and the People’s Choice Award in 2016.

RMS Annual Exhibition