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13 September 2022

Exposed Magazine

Local artist John Wilsher talks with Exposed about his life’s work and his upcoming ‘City of Sanctuary’ exhibition with Assist Sheffield – a local charity that work with people who are seeking sanctuary and who have been refused asylum. 

Words: Adele Parr

Have you lived in Sheffield your whole life?
No, I was born in Dagenham in East London, but I came to Sheffield as a student. After finishing my PGCE in Sheffield, I worked in a comprehensive school for 37 years as a language teacher teaching German. I’ve been living in Sheffield ever since with my wife and two children in Crookesmoor.

How did making and selling art become a part of your life?
Hmm, selling. I’m not sure selling is a good word – I’m rubbish at it. In fact, I think I’m the world’s worst salesperson. But I started doing art when I was about 50-years-old, as my wife told me about a friend of hers doing a painting class. I was feeling fed up with my job at the time, so I went along to try it out. I enjoyed it so much that I applied for an access course at Chesterfield College to study Art. After completing my degree in 2016 at the University of Huddersfield, I knew I wanted to carry on painting. So, I started renting a studio in Exchange Place in Sheffield and I’ve been here ever since. It’s like my garden shed really, a shed I have to travel to.

What was your relationship like with art growing up?
My parents always encouraged me and my brothers to sit and draw from a young age. I’m not sure if it was to keep us quiet, but we’d sit in the front room and draw for hours while my mum was making our clothes. I’ve always liked it for as long as I can remember.

Are there any artists who influence your work?
I have a big mix really as my work is constantly changing. I’d say Van Gogh has always been there; I would visit the Kröller-Müller museum in the Netherlands with my children most years. Picasso’s use of colour and shapes have influenced some of my landscape work as well.

Music is big part of your work, particularly the blues. Where did that come from?
Whilst I was at these drawing and painting classes, a friend of mine who used to run a blues festival in Sheffield asked if I would do some paintings. So, I went about painting people like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and artists like those. This led me to do other musicians such as Amy Winehouse and Richard Hawley over the next few years. This graduated into doing more portraits of singers, then athletes and members of my family.

What do you try and capture in your paintings?
Emotion is key and I love using colour to portray this. My paintings of blues, jazz and rock allow me to capture it; the artists sing with such passion and it’s so important to show this. Sometimes, just listening to the artist helps me to portray the emotion through their music.

How has your style evolved over the years?
My style changes all the time. I don’t like to paint in the same style each time, I like to have a mix and try out new things. Some of my art is very figurative, so I try to make it as close to the real thing as possible. Whilst, with others, I’ve done abstract work where I concentrate on the texture, especially in the Peak District. It’s not meant to be an exact replica, you know? I need to get a feel of the crags and the mountains around me.

Have you got anything in the pipeline?
I have an exhibition coming up at Sheffield Cathedral from 1st – 14th October. The fundraiser is called ‘City of Sanctuary’ and will be working with the local charity Assist, which aims to raise money for refugees who are seeking asylum. So, currently, I’m working on a few pieces for the exhibition influenced by an artist called Edvard Munch, most commonly known for ‘The Scream’. His work really inspired me as a large part of it focuses on psychological trauma and that is obviously relevant for this cause.

‘City of Sanctuary’ will be available to view at Sheffield Cathedral, 17th – 31st October. If you’ve like to make a donation to Assist Sheffield, you can visit the artist’s Just Giving page.

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