John Walsom ROI ARSMA | Mall Galleries

Barges Maldon
Boats at Mylor Yacht Harbour
Flushing
Painted Bridge, Royal Oak
Sy Osyth Rising Tide
Under the Westway
Up the Junction Platform
Waterloo Road
Waterloo, the Graffiti Tunnel

About John Walsom ROI ARSMA

Artist details wrap

Biography

Artist's Statement

When I paint, I'm working towards an honest statement about what I see, and searching for ways to express the fascination which first drew me to a subject. I find painting hard and often frustrating work, but I love it. Sometimes the beauty of a scene is clear, sometimes it needs to be teased out over a period of time. Technically, the whole process of converting three dimensions into two, and reflected light into a solid surface of coloured paint, is constantly exciting to me.

I think of myself as a tonal painter, in that I'm usually trying to maintain the tonal values I see as accurately as possible, while I feel more free to be adventurous with colour. Most of my oil painting is done "en plein air", in front of the subject, and my style is generally representational in terms of the physical elements of a scene. I hope to convey a delight in the visual world which might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Biographical Details

1956 Born in Leicestershire
1974 - 1980 Studied Architecture at Sheffield University, awarded BA(hons), Dip Arch.
1977 Sold paintings from the railings of the Bayswater Road, London
1980 - 1981 Worked as Scenic Artist at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
1981 Moved to London, qualified as an Architect
1981 - 1984 Worked as a Theatre Design Consultant on projects in the UK, Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean, for Theatre Projects Consultants.
1984 - 1986 Worked as an architect for RHWL in Covent Garden
1986 - 1987 Sold all posessions and travelled the world for a year
1987 - 2000 Worked as a freelance architectural photographer and illustrator
2000 Became full-time freelance artist and illustrator
2017 Elected a member of the Wapping Group of Artists
2017 Presented "The Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace" to HM The Queen
2018 Elected a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and Chelsea Art Society
2019 Elected an associate of the Royal Society of Marine Artists

Society Memberships

Royal Institute of Oil Painters

Royal Society of Marine Artists

Other Society Memberships

The Wapping Group of Artists
Chelsea Art Society

Scholarships, Awards, Prizes

2019 "The Artist" magazine award, Royal Institute of Oil Painters annual exhibition
2018 Clairefontaine award and Artist Exhibition award, "The Artist" magazine exhibition
2018 1st prize winner, "Glorious Richmond" painting competition
2017 Agnes Reeve Award for a painting of London, Chelsea Art Society exhibition

Exhibitions

Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2018

Other exhibitions

Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition, 2019, 2018, 2017
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition, 2018, 2017
Solo exhibitions at The Fountain Gallery, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2011
Solo exhibitions at Portland The Gallery, Richmond, 2014, 2012, 2010
The Wapping Group of Artists annual exhibition, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016
Chelsea Art Society annual exhibition, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
British Plein Air Painters exhibition, 2020, 2018
The Artist Collection, Patchings Art Centre, 2019
Society of Architectural Illustrators exhibition, 2019
The Baltic Exchange RSMA exhibition, 2018
The Artist Magazine exhibition, 2018
Sunday Times Watercolour exhibition, 2013
"London Lives" exhibition, Bankside Gallery, 2011
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1995