Having painted for over 60 years, John Ballard creates extra-large abstracts using a wide range of colours and textures including scraping, scarring and etching the surface of the canvas – a major feature of his work.

John takes up the story:
“I have gone through many phases of development. In the 60’s there was a big demand for “chocolate box” type paintings, Mediterranean scenes, wood scenes, Parisian street scenes and the like. I was able to earn sufficient money from these styles to finance my hippy lifestyle, by hanging paintings on the railings in Hyde Park. I travelled throughout Europe, Africa, and beyond, chalking on pavements; it was a precarious existence. By the late 60’s I started to prefer a more conventional lifestyle with a regular income, so became involved in the architectural glass industry, making glass facades and entrances.

Painting has become a hobby/pastime, and I now produce extra-large abstracts. My current paintings are inspired by my love of pen and ink drawings (lots of dots and fine lines), and my interest in plant forms with tendrils, roots, burrs and twisted shapes. I produce paintings in two to three days, driven by the fact that I need the oil paint to be malleable so that it allows for scraping, scarring and etching the surface. I very rarely sketch an outline and prefer the free flow of painting large basic forms which I then build on with highlights, shadows and etched lines.

These large abstracts are in high demand as people are living in large open plan living spaces, which lend themselves to this style of art.”