John King

John was brought up in coal mining villages in County Durham and Nottinghamshire . At school in Ollerton , Nottinghamshire he became passionate about drawing and painting but at that stage in his life he was unable to continue this interest into university studies. After leaving education, he took various work including as a coal miner and furniture salesman. In my own time I managed further my interest in art by completing an art A level at Chesterfield College and eventually realised his ambition of going back into higher education as a mature arts student , completing a degree in art and design at Bradford College in 1997. He soon realised that life drawing and figurative painting was an area of focus he wanted to take forward and after completing his degree, he successfully applied for a lecturing post back at Chesterfield College specialising in life drawing.

There he taught students on foundation, BTEC and A level courses. He now works with adults with learning disabilities in a community project that helps people to discover new skills in conservation and woodland enterprise. He continues to pursue his passion for drawing and painting and has a studio in Chesterfield where he does his own work and run regular art evening classes. More recently he has moved away from purely figurative work. He is fascinated by the forgotten, and often dimly lit, corners of landscape which invite ‘chiaroscuro ’, the exploration of light and dark.