Born in England and emigrating to Australia in 1995, John has a vast experience of the visual arts. Upon leaving school he became a darkroom technician and a photographer before moving into graphic design and screen-printing, but has always had a desire to paint. When he saw the paintings of Caravaggio, this desire became a necessity.

John dabbled in watercolors but was unhappy with the final results and it was not until he began working in oils that he found his favorite medium. John found that he preferred oil paints because of the freedom and consistency of color that can be achieved. He began taking lessons from the respected Brisbane based artist, Pir Tareen.

John went on to study at the Queensland College of Art where he achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts working with artists such as Julie Fragar and bruce Reynolds. John also graduated with a Bachelor of education and became an art teacher.

As well as relishing painting portraits, John has a fascination with the human form and loves to draw and paint the body using live models and photographs as his resource. He feels his best works are those pieces that capture a part of the story of the sitter rather than a just technically interesting visual representation of the subject.