1 of 5
John Gillo - Three Ferries
John Gillo - Three Ferries
2 of 5
John Gillo - River at Kingswear
John Gillo - River at Kingswear
3 of 5
John Gillo - Rivermouth
John Gillo - Rivermouth
4 of 5
John Gillo - Market Square
John Gillo - Market Square
5 of 5
John Gillo - Two Ferries
John Gillo - Two Ferries
John Gillo - Inspired by Dartmouth
”I was born in 1948. My initial years were spent in Putney, London and later Maidenhead in Berkshire. I attended Windsor Grammar school after which I accepted a place at Brighton School of Art, graduating in 1971. I taught in a number of schools and colleges but realised I wanted to paint full time and established the John Gillo Gallery in 1976.
From this base I developed a reputation for watercolours, mainly drawing my inspiration from Dartmouth and the surrounding area.
I have always had a fascination with the way that buildings sit within the environment. The juxtaposition of hard and soft forms, tone and colour contrast are essentially abstract.
As an artist, one possesses a singular sense of perception that imposes order on impressions and experiences. Paul Klee uses the tree as a metaphor: the roots are the perception, the trunk the artist and the crown the work of art spreading in all directions.
“In my latest series of paintings inspired by Dartmouth, I have simply extended my paintings beyond the conventional and by distorting viewpoints, line, proportion, tone and colour, exploited the abstract elements that already exist. This allows a more dynamic composition and perception of the subject.
All the work is painted using artists’ acrylic paints and is either on board or watercolour paper. There is approximately one hundred hours work in each of the original paintings.
There are signed giclee prints of all these images available in several different sizes priced from £40 to £110 framed. The prints are printed on 100% rag Somerset velvet watercolour paper. They are also available as cards.
I hope you like the new work and will visit the gallery in the Old Market, Dartmouth, or visit my web site'.
First published May/June 2013 By The Dart