John was born in Leicestershire, and began his career as an architect, and later a scenic artist for live theatre, a theatre design consultant, an architectural photographer, and an illustrator.  Throughout this time he was selling his paintings, beginning on the railings of the Bayswater Road in 1977, when he was 21.

He is an Associate of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and a member of the Wapping Group of Artists, and the Chelsea Art Society.  He has exhibited at the Mall Galleries with the ROI, RSMA, and RBA, and at the RA Summer Exhibition.  He has paintings in the collections of HM The Queen, Hampton Court Palace, Oxford University, and private collectors.

He paints in oils and watercolours, both “en plein air” and in the studio.  He feels that the discipline of painting on location is very important in maintaining his drawing and tonal skills, as well as his speed of working. 

In his spare time he plays guitar in a soul and blues band, and enjoys walking his dog, and a little amateur astronomy.