JOHN CLARK
From the Caribbean to Wheatfields
- Biography
John is a self-taught artist from
Leeds in the north of England. In 1987 he moved to the Cayman Islands where
he began to paint in pastels. Bright colours were everywhere and John used
the vibrant tones of the soft pastels to capture the brilliance of the
scenes. Within one year John's works were
in high demand. The major banks, the island's Governor, and the National
Museum were quick to acquire his paintings. The first exhibition in which
John's paintings were displayed was a sell-out within three hours. He won
three Visual Arts awards the following year and hosted a highly successful
solo exhibition. In 1989, as demand continued to
rise, John released his first three sets of limited edition prints and tried to keep up with the demand for his originals, which by then included watercolours. Over the years, as John travelled
through the Caribbean he became familiar with some of the other islands.
The British Virgin Islands were the inspiration for five sets of prints,
making a total of nineteen limited editions to date.
As his art developed, John began painting in acrylics and brought out his first prints of acrylic paintings in 1996. By this time his paintings were beginning to sell throughout the Caribbean. John's paintings and prints of Caribbean scenes can be found in galleries in Grand Cayman, St. John, St. Maarten, Tortola and the USA. Towards the end of the 90's John began painting in oils for the first time and was instantly hooked by the medium.
John and his family returned to England in 2001. He immediately began painting rural scenes and spent a good deal of time travelling and taking photographs of the English countryside. A whole new range of subjects and styles became available to John and he enjoyed experimenting. He has done still lifes in oils, landscapes in acrylics and pastels and is looking forward to new projects and challenges.
His week is divided between painting Caribbean and English scenes and he feels that the diversity and contrast of his subjects and media keep him fresh and creative.
John is looking forward to teaching art classes later this year.