John Brockington

I was born in Bristol in 1961. I moved to London in 1979 to study at the 'Slade School of Fine Art'. There I set out in pursuit of the traditional skills. Accurate renderings of anatomy, colour and perspective, are the building blocks for my paintings.

In my paintings, firstly I set out to create a thing of beauty, secondly, I try to use symbolism and narrative to load the work with ideas - for those willing to dig a little deeper.

Over thirty years I have worked within these same principles, building a body of work that has a strong visual impact, but also a lot to say for itself under the surface.

Over recent years -especially -the narrative elements in my pictures have woven together and the same characters repeatedly appear. Another development for me has been the way my home town of Clevedon has become a sort of magical setting for my paintings. Together these elements give a sense of cohesion to the world that I depict.

With so much ‘King’s new clothesery’ abounding in the contemporary art world these days, its more important than ever to hold to one's artistic principles.

Sade School of Fine Art BA,1979-83