John Lowrie Morrison (born 1948,

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

), 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; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) 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, an ...

, 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 of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...

and chose the latter. While his classmates favoured pop art and abstraction, he developed an expressionist style, influenced by artists such as Kokoschka,

Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

and Soutine. He taught art for more than twenty years at

Lochgilphead High School Lochgilphead High School in Lochgilphead, Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corr ...

, appointed along the way as art adviser for

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

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

Abertay University , mottoeng = "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom." , established = 1994 – granted University Status 1888 – Dundee Institute of Technology , type = Public , chancellor = Alice Brown , principal = Liz Bacon , head_label = Chair of C ...

in 2009 and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (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, Madonna,

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British 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 British ...

, Sophia Loren, Chris Patten and

Rick Stein Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

. 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 ; gd, Taigh a' Bhealaich ) is a small village in the Knapdale area of Argyll and Bute, in Scotland. The village name has its origins in Gaelic, and means the "house of the pass". The village is built around a sheltered harbo ...

, 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 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