Artist John Horner is already familiar to some in the area - he exhibited in Howick a few years ago and has taken several classes in landscape painting.

When Auckland artist John Horner goes on holiday with his family, he’s the one who has to stop frequently along the way, not his partner Jeanette or their two daughters. 

“Some of our journeys take a very long time,” Jeanette says. 

However, John’s stops aren’t for retail therapy. They’re essential for his creativity. Usually he has seen something in the landscape that he wants to capture in a painting. He pulls the car over, says he’ll only be a moment, and leaves the vehicle for five minutes – approximately – to capture the scene as a sketch so he can paint it later.

Sometimes he uses watercolours to record the form and colour; other times he’ll draw the outline, writing down the colours he intends to use to express what he has seen.

Born in Kent, England, in 1944, John can remember the pretty, quaint villages surrounded by neat hedgerows. He was eight years old when he arrived in New Zealand with his family, sailing in an old ship that passed through the Panama Canal on its way south. 

Evening Light, Waiwera Valley 213 x 122 cm acrylic on canvas.

He found the New Zealand landscape wild, extreme and untamed and was struck by the rugged beauty of the Coromandel, which he visited in the 1950s. This area is still special to him and he recently contributed a chapter on the Coromandel for a book titled “New Zealand – A Painted Country.” 

At only eight years old John showed a level of complexity in his painting which was unusual for his age. His parents encouraged him and hired Betty Curnow to give him private lessons.

He attended Takapuna Grammar and studied at Elam School of Fine Arts in the 1960s, where his lecturers included Colin McCahon, Robert Ellis and Garth Tapper. Many of his contemporaries from those halcyon days are still prominent in the New Zealand art scene.

John then trained as a teacher and has taught art ever since. For the past 26 years he has tutored at Whitecliffe College of Art & Design, where he’s now a Senior Lecturer in Fine Arts; teaching drawing, painting, screen printing and etching.

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Railway Series 2 152 x 122 cm acrylic on canvas.

He calls himself an expressionist painter, with his paintings a response to the way the landscape makes him feel. He also enjoys painting cityscapes. Mt Eden Village is a favourite, life along Karangahape Road another, plus any other city landmarks that interest him. As a result his paintings often become part social and part architectural comment, especially when the subject matter is demolished to make way for more buildings.

In studying for a Masters in Fine Arts in 2001, John was required to work in a style and on a topic unfamiliar to him. He had inherited his father’s train set and had added to the collection over the years. When a colleague suggested he look at the history of railway art in New Zealand for his thesis, he embarked on a fascinating journey.

“Trains have been a popular theme in music, art and poetry for decades. They’re rich in imagery and symbolism but when I looked at the history of trains I saw there was more to them than just arrivals, departures and hissing engines,” John says. “There was the impact of colonialism, taking land and displacing locals and the Maori prophet Te Kooti described the railways in New Zealand as the whistling God of the Pakeha.”

The Needles, Cape Colville, 2007 75 x 100 cm acrylic on canvas.

An exhibition of John’s paintings titled One Track Mind resulted from his study and he’s grateful that his research made him think about his painting on a deeper level. While trains and landscapes have been common themes in his paintings so far, John is travelling to Europe soon and is keen to discover whether his new perspective will alter the way he sees the familiar old-world landscape; whether he’ll view it more deeply.

John continues to teach, to paint and to hold exhibitions. His work hangs in private homes and corporate offices with a significant number of paintings also hired out around the country.  He has been awarded high praise for his talent, including the title of paramount chief Muliagatele on the island of Savaii in Samoa in recognition of his support of Pacific art and culture in New Zealand.

Inspiration for John also comes from his students – watching their talent develop and seeing them produce good work. They keep him on his toes too, ensuring he continues to dig deep and produce exciting expressions of the world around him.

To see more of John’s work visit www.mobileart.co.nz