We are celebrating James and John’s 80th birthdays this year with an exhibition of beautiful new paintings. It has been a joy to work with James and John over the last decade. They are innately creative gentlemen and it has been a pleasure and privilege to share their artistic journey.
John Thornton
Working with wood for a living, which involved carving rocking horses, and repairing and making oak furniture, there was constantly an opportunity for John to create, and so painting seemed a natural progression. Having always had a great interest in art, John decided to pursue it more intently.
Painting in mixed media he often uses acrylic, watercolour, gouache and ink within the same painting, allowing the materials to run and bleed into each other, with the addition of collage, materials collected whilst walking or beach combing, to create the added texture. He uses photos that have been taken, although never copied exactly, but used as a reference, particularly, to observe the effects of light on water with regard to his landscapes. John says that painting is not only a pleasure but a challenge to create a piece that reflects and encapsulates the essence of a subject. If people can sense and appreciate these aspects of his work he feels he has, in part, achieved his intentions.
James Wheeler
James was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art and trained as a carpet designer before joining one of the largest carpet manufacturers in Yorkshire as Design Studio Manager.
James became one of the UK’s leading carpet designers and with colour and composition being so important in his professional designs. James allowed this to flow naturally through the subtlety of hue and texture into his landscapes. Painting primarily in oils on cork, his work straddles the contemporary and the timeless, inviting viewers to a personal interpretation of his painting.
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