G. John Blockley

RI PPPS RWA NEAC

Visionary and ground-breaking Artist and Author

G John Blockley (1921-2002)  

G John Blockley was a visionary painter known for his books and ground- breaking approach to watercolour.  He challenged the watercolour ‘rules’ at a time when traditional methods were the standard practice and, with no formal art training, devoted his prodigious energy to a personal,  progressive way of painting and an obsessive search for the essence of his subjects. He explored watercolour, pastels and mixed media all linked through the practice of drawing. He was twice president of the pastel society in the 1980s and played a huge role in helping to revive both the society and the medium.  He was a member of the Royal Institute of painters in watercolour and the Royal Watercolour Society at different times, the New English Art Club and the Royal West of England Academy.

Introduction

by Ann Blockley, Artist and Author

I am delighted to be introducing the paintings and drawings of my late father, G John Blockley (1921-2002 )  to a new twenty-first  century audience. To those of you already familiar with his work I hope this website will offer a few surprises as well as nostalgic delights. There have been discussions about the idea of a Retrospective book about John and his immense visual contribution to the art world for many years. As a fellow artist and author as well as his daughter, it seemed appropriate that I should be the one to set this in action.   It is important that there should be a record of the whole spectrum of changes and developments in medium and style that his artwork covered over several decades, influencing so many other artists.  John Blockley- A Retrospective  will be published in July 2018.   At least half the artworks are previously unpublished and include drawings, early watercolours, pastels and later acrylics in a range of subjects such as landscapes, flowers, boats and buildings.
“The painting progresses within the paint I am mixing, nurturing the attitude that I no longer paint the landscape, my paint is the landscape.”

New Book

John Blockley – A Retrospective

Compiled by Ann Blockley

Hardback book – (144 pages) Published by Batsford July 5, 2018

John Blockley was an internationally known artist whose work helped change the face of British watercolour. This beautiful retrospective of his work, which includes drawings, watercolours, pastels, acrylics and mixed media is a unique record of his artistic legacy and, for the first time, considers the whole spectrum of development in his painting, showing his progression and inspiration.  Subjects range from his iconic landscapes of the wild corners of UK,  cityscapes, farm buildings, flowers and still life, figures, marine paintings and more.  Artist Ann Blockley offers a perceptive narrative about her father’s painting life, which was always driven by his obsessive search for the essence of his subjects.

John Blockley – A Retrospective  is available to buy for £25 plus postage. Click here to order: www.annblockley.com

 

 

I like to think of painting as an awareness of some quality- the aura of the place”

Biography

John Blockley 1921-2002

RI PPPS RWA NEAC

Gwilym John Blockley was born in Knighton, Radnorshire on the border of England and Wales.   His father was Welsh and John’s paintings of Wales, in particular, have become iconic. They changed the way that many artists perceive the Welsh landscape and it is almost impossible to ‘see’ this landscape now without thinking of his vision.

John  left school at thirteen to serve, at his parent’s insistence, a technical draughtsman’s apprenticeship which would lead to a ‘proper job’.  He worked in the North of England as an engineering draughtsman but was unhappy in this technical work and, in desperation, enrolled on a local evening art class.  These informal classes were his only art training.

John soon began to question what he learnt about watercolour. He felt that the strict ‘rules’ he had seen so far made it difficult to capture the specific qualities he was interested in painting, especially the textures. He decided to see what would happen if he did the opposite to what he had been taught. Once John challenged the traditional watercolour rules he never looked back. He developed new ways to use the medium and in 1965 he had his first solo show. His boss ridiculed the idea but the exhibition astonished both the artist and his critics when virtually everything sold. By 1967 he had been elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour (RI). John extended his progressive artistic enquiries into the medium of pastel and was twice elected president of the Pastel Society (PS)
At the age of 52 John became a full time painter and devoted all his prodigious energy to a personal, ground-breaking way of painting. The family moved to the Cotswolds to be closer to London. He continued to exhibit around the UK but also opened his own gallery in Stow-on–the-Wold.

In around 1996 he changed his style and medium virtually overnight. His paintings became more abstract and selective with a stunning, more vibrant and contemporary palette using acrylics and mixed mediums. This new way of working soon lead to his becoming an elected member of the Royal West of England Academy (RWA)

John was a visionary; a charismatic leader and truly extraordinary painter. He was highly motivated to follow his relentless quest for progression. Throughout his varied artistic career he always remained true to his personal vision whilst practising those rare traits – originality and integrity.
The above is a compilation of shortened and adapted excerpts from the book:

 ‘John Blockley- A Retrospective’ ( published July 5, 2018 by Batsford books) compiled by Ann Blockley

I enjoy it all – the looking, the dreaming, the note-taking and drawing and then the creative action in the studio”

Portfolio

 Please note: This is a portfolio of archived images is NOT a catalogue of work for sale although some of them are available.

Watercolours

Acrylics and Mixed Media

Pastels

Drawings

“In order to paint the terrain as I see it – blotched, mottled, grainy – I must experiment

Publications

John Blockley wrote many books about his paintings which influenced an international audience. They are now all out of print but second hand copies can still be found. The watercolour books were not ‘technique’ books in the usual sense. The emphasis was on the ‘thinking leading to the pictures’ and his concern was always the basic motivating idea.  In his first hardback book, The Challenge of Watercolour, he began to question the usual processes of painting in this medium. The title alluded to the challenging nature of watercolour but also to the fact that he challenged its traditions. Watercolour Practise and Progress was ‘a personal project to restate and practise the basic techniques of watercolour painting and to evaluate attitudes developed during many years of painting and teaching’.  This book was reprinted in US with a new cover and title of ‘Getting Started in Watercolour’. This was followed by Watercolour Interpretations in which John explored the idea that in order to identify closely with a subject you must explore it in depth and look at the possibilities of interpreting it in different ways.  In Country Landscapes in Watercolour he painted aspects of different farms, their buildings, rural details and the landscapes within which they were situated around UK. John also wrote three paperback books about painting in pastels. Finally, A Personal Record showed his new, contemporary, often more abstract style of painting alongside sketches and drawings. Ann Blockley’s book, John Blockley – A Retrospective features images from many of the above books as well as  a large  percentage of previously unpublished works.

 

 

 

I think of painting as explorative and experimental and I think of drawing as fact-finding”

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