Although 50, John is enthusiastic about all things “pop”. He takes much of his inspiration from 70’s and 80’s music and television stars, ‘reviving’ them through a palette of bright colours. Originally working with Project Art Works in 2006, when he made Self Portrait as Elvis, a large and extraordinary painting inspired by an original vinyl LP sleeve, he has continued to develop his painting and artistic language through Mentoring Studios. During the past year, John has continued to work steadily, developing a range of new canvases despite interuption through illness.

John often brings CDs in to the studio, keen to share his passion for particular songs with the rest of the group but also enjoys being introduced to new music. He is a sensitive and positive person and gets on particularly well with the project mentor, Tony, who he calls “Dave”.

John takes well known images and photographs of pop and film celebrities and transforms them into highly personalized readings of each character. The faces he paints are singluar and distinct from the clutter of backgrounds that he tend to treat as simple colour fields – sometimes to great effect as in Clint Eastwood.

‘I like Batman and Robin. Boy Wonder wears red and black. I liked the red. I loved it. Liked making it.’

‘Painting right, I'd like to paint David Essex (points off into the distance) with a star'.