JOHN NELSON

John is a highly experienced and popular artist living in the Borders near Selkirk. Born in Edinburgh, John studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1962 - 1967 where he was awarded a number of painting and drawing prizes including the Andrew Grant Scholarship. A post-graduate scholarship enabled him to travel and exhibit in France, Holland and Belgium before returning to Edinburgh to become an art lecturer at Stevenson College, a position he held until 1996. At various times during his long career John has been chairman of The Livingston Art Foundation, The Glasgow League of Artists and The Craigmillar Festival Society.

John's vibrant and colourful works sit in many private and public collections all over the world including Kirkcaldy Art Gallery and Museum and The Scottish Arts Council. He takes part in many exhibitions throughout Scotland every year, a testament to his enduring popularity, and regularly shows work at galleries in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Crieff, Perth, Aberfeldy and the Borders.

He says of his work; 'I produce paintings which I hope encapsulate my natural joie de vivre and love of colour. Always suspicious of the archetypical, I work directly onto the canvas - no preparatory drawing and as something emerges, I follow and shape intuitively. Ideas for my paintings come from a variety of sources although I am particularly drawn to the natural forms of land and sea.'