Born in Christchurch in 1945, John studied art in his schooldays under sculptor Tom Taylor. Although on leaving school John embarked on a medical career, he continued to paint and exhibit on a regular basis. His art awards include Telecom Art Awards 1992 and N.Z. Wearable Arts Awards 1998 and 2005. John’s art publications appear in The Artist ( U.K. ), the Artists’ Palette (3 ), the Australian Artist ( 3) and in a book of portraits, “In my chair”. John developed his current palette knife technique in order to give his paintings a unique texture and definition.