[garinda]

Originally Posted by davebtelford

I was at Accy Grammar with John in the early 60s (so he must have been born in 1947).

I was never artistically inclined - I didn't think much of Alan Butcher the art teacher, the only piece I did that was any good he accused me of having someone else help me with. "This is a too variegated a piece of work to have come from one hand." If I'd known what 'variegated' meant I'd have told him where to go!

I never took to John's work. I think he was initially very constrained by the cost of materials and the stuff this produced dictated his 'style'. It'll probably be worth a mint after he dies. He appeared in a series on TV about artists and their methods, producing I think a large, sombre rural scene which he said he wasn't happy with & ritually burnt.

He was later Artist in Residence at the National Gallery (?) - but I believe it's a limited term appointment so he's probably moved on now.

'As a boy, he had been encouraged and guided by Alan Butcher, an art teacher at his small grammar school in the defunct cotton town of Accrington. Now he was back home, seeking fresh inspiration in the familiar countryside of northeast Lancashire.'
Times Higher Education - River runs through the imagination