Biography
John Silver was born in 1959 in Macclesfield, Cheshire in the United Kingdom.
He has painted from an early age and he knew that he was going to be an artist by the age of five! He has dedicated most of his life to fine tuning his craft and studying the different painting techniques of the old masters. His favourites artists being Da Vinci, Titian, Rembrandt, Poussin, Reynolds, Turner and Constable. In order to discover as much as possible about their techniques he would painstakingly copy selected paintings, some of them taking as long as eight months to complete.
(John’s Birthday is actually the same date as Da Vinci - April the 15th!)
Coming from quite a poverty stricken background as a child, he has fought hard for the education that he has today. From his schooling at the Kings School in Macclesfield (at 500 years old, one of the country’s oldest schools), to his days at college studying illustration for his degree.
In fact looking back, he says that he should really have taken the Fine Art Course instead, as he did not learn anything about painting during his educational years! A completely self taught artist, He has had to teach himself everything to do with his art, from mixing his own paint to stretching canvases!
His constant love throughout has been to study and learn from the old masters, much though of what they knew has sadly been lost. But if one digs deep enough as he has, then it is possible to re-discover some of their techniques and secrets! In the end though, he discovered that there was no magic formula that made the old masters so good, it all boils down to their incredible knowledge of their materials, skill and craftsmanship.
His aim is to constantly strive to improve his art with each passing day. It is a love affair that he has with art and from which he can never be separated.
He prefers to paint with oils on canvas or hand prepared gesso panel, in the traditional manner as used by the ancients. Though he does sometimes stray into Watercolour, Acrylics and Charcoal.
John has been represented by most of the world’s leading publishers, including Washington Green, Solomon & Whitehead, Applejack (USA) and several others. He is just about to begin a new “phase” of his career, working with a well known publisher based in Italy and California USA.
He is constantly working on several figuratives and these should be available to view fairly soon. Keep your eyes on the regularly updated galleries on this web site!
John’s early career brought him to the very top of his profession. He was (and still is to this day) one of the world’s leading canine and equestrian artists and has indeed painted for the Royal family. His early works being extremely photo realistic. Now, with age and experience, his works are becoming more loose and artistic. The brush stroke itself is more important to him than detail. The “art” of art, John says, “is the ability to show in one brush stroke, what would normally take several dozen, or even hundreds of brush strokes by a photo realist painter. There must be some leeway for the art viewer to enjoy the painting itself, instead of having every single hair or whatever painted in incredible detail (Why not just take a photograph)! By painting in this looser fashion, the viewers eye actually makes sense of the brush strokes and the mind then configures them to create the painting in your own head. This is true art. Look at any Da Vince or Titian painting, where some edges seem to disappear. You know the edge of an arm is there, but it does not have to be actually shown for your own mind to make it so. This technique was pioneered by such great artists as Da Vinci and Titian and is known as Sfumato. In fact painting in this looser style is so very much more difficult than painting photographic realism!”
John now considers his past realist style paintings as “Illustrations” whereas the more “loose” and textured his art is, for him it is just that..... Pure art. This knowledge and ability can only be achieved with age and experience. It cannot be easily taught.
Throughout his artistic career he has always loved to paint the human form. Now, today, we see the culmination of all those years of hard work and learning. His figurative works are laden with sensuality and show the female form in all it’s fragility. Each brush stroke and colour is carefully considered before committing it to the canvas. Indeed he regularly uses his fingers to blend and move the paint around, in much the same way as Titian used to prefer to do.
John Silver paintings are in private collections throughout the world and he wishes to thank all the collectors of his work over the years. Without whom, he says, his work would have been futile and of no significance. He thanks you all deeply for your generosity and support through the years.
Quote: “Without art collectors, an artist may as well not exist. We, as artists, exist purely to create images to stir emotions within the viewer. Without a viewer, a painting becomes invisible and of zero importance. We, as artists, must thank the viewer for casting his or her gaze on our works, thereby making the art come to life. Much as a cobbler needs people to wear his shoes”.
Quote: “May I say that it will always give me the utmost joy and elation if one of my paintings were to give some small degree of pleasure or other emotion, to someone, somewhere, sometime. That has always been my aspiration and indeed my main reason for existing on this small speck of dust we call home. Just to be an artist. That is all I have ever wanted to be, in this life and the next.” John Silver
