John trained as an Art teacher at Doncaster and in Drama at Derby University. After teaching Art and Drama for several years John became founder member and artistic director of Compact Theatre and has acted professionally (as Harry Connolly) since 1992. John divides his time between painting, acting and writing (with a bias towards painting most recently). John has written three plays, which have been toured nationally, and he also sings with the oldest boyband in the world ‘Old Spice'. To balance the books, John teaches Art in Derbyshire and sings with ' Old Spice' who were recently re named, 6meninblack.com/

Since 2002 , John has visited Dubai several times, performing with Compact Theatre for Streetwise Fringe. In that time, John has been inspired by the colours, textures and vastness of the desert and has produced a number of paintings for the Majlis Gallery in Dubai.

ARTISTS STATEMENT

One of my aims as a performing artist and writer is to make my work accessible to those who do not normally go to the theatre. The plays I have written have all attracted ‘new audiences’ to many theatres both in this country and abroad.
One of my aims as a visual artist is to produce contemporary art that can be enjoyed by not just the ‘seasoned art collector’ but anyone who has an appreciation for the aesthetic hopefully to entice a ‘new audience’ into the often friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the contemporary art gallery.

I have a keen interest in lansdcape painting “ As I tour with Compact, with sketchbook and camera I am able to tap into the rich variety of landscapes around Britain. The vast sweeping horizons of the Derbyshire Peak District, the rugged terrain and ever changing light over Cumbria, North Yorkshire Moors and the shorlines of Pembrokeshire and Cornwall provide me with a rich variety of subject matter"

I work mainly with acrylics, but sometimes mix media using anything and everything that is permanent, to achieve the desired effect. I use variety of found materials, making marks and interesting textures with anything at hand. I scratch, scrape and sometimes flick or throw the paint onto the canvas to create runs and dribbles that suggest waves or interesting cloud formations. In some of my larger paintings I include collaged materials. Beach sand may be used to create an interesting texture in a landscape or to represent itself within a seascape. Dried grass, twigs, leaves and ferns have also been known to appear (as themselves) in my landscape paintings".

In much of his current work, John is drawn towards the sea and bleakest parts of Cornwall, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, making the point of interest the horizon where the contrasts of colour, texture and the ever changing light over water enable him to create work with drama and emotion. John rarely includes people in his paintings hoping that the ‘observer’ can experience a feeling of remoteness and ‘sense of place’. Where figures do appear, this is usually to provide focus and scale to the work.

COLLECTIONS.

John's work has been purchased by collectors in this country, France, Sweden, Austria, America, Australia, New Zealand, and The Middle East .

John lives near Chesterfield in Derbyshire with his wife Sally and daughter Alice.