John Clinock
Vancouver, Canada | Painter | Resident in 2019, 2023, 2024
Influenced by the ‘Beat’ poets of the 1950s and ’60s, I left my home in the UK to travel the highways of North America. Enroute I fell in love with Canada’s west coast and remain here still, living and making art in Vancouver, BC.
I failed high school art in England and didn’t even consider studying or practising visual art until 1977 in Victoria, BC. At that time I was navigating periods of deep depression and existential crisis. A concerned friend suggested I apply for the same art course she was applying for: a two year foundational Visual Arts course at a local college. I had no portfolio and little experience but was accepted with a promise to fully commit myself for two years. I did so willingly and discovered a deep and lasting passion for the visual arts.
I went on to earn a first class Honours BFA in painting and a B.Ed in Visual art.
I taught senior high school art and art history in Vancouver for 25 years.
Since retiring I have continued my art studies and practice and have used my experience to teach and help others discover and explore their own creativity and find healing and joy in the act of art. I volunteered for 10 years leading classes and workshops in the creative process at community centres in Vancouver serving vulnerable populations, including people on lower income, people with disabilities, seniors, people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, the LGBTQ community, youth, and people who are homeless.
I have exhibited my art in numerous solo and group shows in British Columbia. I have art in private collections in the UK, USA, Mexico and Canada.
“During my stay I met creatives from many countries who were visual artists, writers and musicians. I was given opportunities to exhibit, sell and talk about my artwork to invited guests. I cannot stress enough how important it was for me to have the freedom to work on my own or to socialise with the other residents. In solitude I learned so much about myself and my creative process. In my interactions with the other residents my ideas and conceptions about the act of art were challenged and expanded, and in the process I made new friends and professional connections. I recommend this arts residency with all my heart.”
Work by John Clinock
I work in a variety of media including words, painting, drawing, and mixed media.I teach and workshop the creative process of art in the community with a belief in the healing power of the act of art.
Making art enchants me. The sensual and quintessentially magical process of making something from nothing animates my life.
I play and lose myself in the act of art.
I work until I disappear.
Each new piece I make is a deeply personal journey, a dance with those aspects of consciousness that are mysterious and elusive.
I approach each working surface as I would a new relationship, a Fun-House mirror, or a dream, in search of another disclosure of self.
My art is an unfolding path of exploration and adventure, a dance of flesh and spirit, a poetry, a making magic on the edge of the unknown.
