John Morris

I was born in 1963 in London and currently live and work in Plymouth, Devon with my wife, three children and sundry animals.

I like to work mostly in self-themed projects. This may be a hangover from my student days, but it gives structure to my working process and focuses my ideas towards a final painting. I do like my ideas to come to fruition in an oil painting.
I only use oil paint, with perhaps just a charcoal guide drawing underneath. Sponteneity is they key; I have learned through bitter experience that overworking kills an image. I over-paint a lot of failed work!
I love the risk of unrehearsed work and I love oils: the intensity of colour, the way it moves and feels, and of course the smell. It's the best after-shave there is. Sod acrylics.
My work, when finished, is variously colourful yet calm, bold yet mysterious, witty yet poignant, dramatic yet questioning, existential yet referential, surreal yet accessible, traditional yet contemporary, good yet bad. Oh, and it all looks great on the wall which is the main thing, I suppose. I try it out in my home first!
My site is constantly updating itself. My current intention is a return to painting the human figure: erotic, witty and profound.

I've come a long way to be here. After leaving school I studied graphic design at Kingston Polytechnic (as was) and the London College of Printing, before coming to the westcountry to escape the mania of the early eighties. I have worked as a pub cartoonist, poster and sign painter, muralist, graphic designer and botanical illustrator. Most, if not all, of these past incarnations are evident in my fine art work.
I work at home, in the bosom of my wonderful, starving, neglected family and surrounded by cats, dogs and congealing jars of turpentine, or in a small space I like to call my studio... For some reason this has to be 1000 characters so, even though I think I've said enough.... I don't want to bang on about having the odd stroke (or two) but I did, so there. Hopefully it (they) won't have affected my work because I'm right-handed and my brain still works. When my new paintings arrive you can all be the judges of that! I'm back on the job now so it won't be long. I've had a great year selling my work on minigallery. I'm very grateful to everyone who has bought my work. Onwards and upwards...
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