John Lowrie Morrison (born 1948,

Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

), known as Jolomo, is a Scottish contemporary artist, producing

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

oil paintings of Scottish landscapes.

Career

He became interested in art at an early age, copying chocolate box pictures that his mother brought home from work, and painting on school art trips and family holidays. He attended

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

, from 1967 to 1971. He was forced to make a choice between making abstract designs for fashion and

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

and chose the latter. While his classmates favoured pop art and

abstraction Abstraction is a process where general rules and concepts are derived from the use and classifying of specific examples, literal (reality, real or Abstract and concrete, concrete) signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" ...

, he developed an expressionist style, influenced by artists such as

Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright and teacher, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expre ...

Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

and Soutine. He taught art for more than twenty years at Lochgilphead High School, appointed along the way as art adviser for

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

, and only became a full-time artist in 1996. He was awarded an honorary degree by

Abertay University Abertay University () is a public university in the city of Dundee, Scotland. In 1872, Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet of Kilmaron, left a bequest for the establishment of a mechanics' institute in Dundee and the Dundee Institute of Technology w ...

in 2009 and was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 '' New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

for services to art and charity in Scotland. Morrison produces about 100 paintings per month, completing three or four per day, six days a week. They sell very quickly, generating £2 million per year. As well as local buyers, he is patronised by celebrities such as

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is an English singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the Briti ...

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...

and

Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...

. His work is considered by some to be gaudy, while others describe it as unusual and vivid. He completes the majority of his paintings in his studio, based on sketches and photographs. He also researches the history, folklore and geology of a place.

Jolomo Award

He founded the Jolomo Award in 2007 - the prestigious annual award for Scottish Landscape Painting. It is the largest arts award in Scotland and the UK's largest privately funded arts award with a prize currently of £25,000 for the winner, and £35,000 for all the prizes.At a brushstroke, prize money for Jolomo's award rises to £35,000
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Personal life

Morrison lives in

Tayvallich Tayvallich (pronounced ; ) is a small village in the Knapdale area of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. The village name has its origins in Gaelic, and means the "house of the pass". The village is built around a sheltered harbour on Loch Sw ...

, Argyll, with his wife Maureen, whom he met while he was doing a student job in a design studio of a local carpet factory. They have three sons, Callum, Peter and Simon. He is a devout Presbyterian.

References

External links

Official website

2008 exhibition with many of his paintings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, John Lowrie Scottish contemporary artists Artists from Glasgow Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Scottish schoolteachers 1948 births Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire British landscape painters British Expressionist painters 20th-century Scottish educators 20th-century Scottish painters 21st-century Scottish educators 21st-century Scottish painters 21st-century Scottish male artists People from Maryhill Scottish Presbyterians