John Arnold Bradley was born in Sydney, on the 4th of September 1945. From his early childhood he showed all the signs of a talented and gifted draughtsman and painter. He recalls with relish, that at age nine, he used these talents to win free movie tickets. He also developed a strong kinship with the Australian country scene by spending his summer vacations on the properties of relatives in Narrabri, Glenn Innes, Kurrajong and the Mid North Coast.

These acquired skills and knowledge of the bush laid dormant whilst John pursued a much varied career after he finished his education. Prior to becoming a professional Artist/Teacher in 1982, he was among other things, a soldier, Avionics Technician, Aircraft Inspector, and National Sales Manager for an electronics company. The diversity of these various occupations provided John with the opportunity of travel, both Overseas and extensively throughout Australia. The involvement with avionics and electronics taught him the value of precision, a skill he uses admirably in his paintings.

Largely self-taught, John has not been influenced by any past Australian painter nor does he follow someone else's style. He admits however, having a high regard for the late Sir Hans Heysen with whom he shares a deep feeling for the rugged Australian Centre.

His subject matter ranges from the harsh outback regions to the verdant coastal scenery of the eastern states of Australia. His treatment of light on the trees and foliage is unique. The subtlety of colour in his majestic panoramic vistas of the blue Mountains is awe inspiring.

John's early engineering training, his capacity for precision and eye for detail are clearly evident in his rendering of steam locomotives, paddle steamers, historic townships and traditional landscape perspectives. Correctness and detail can not be faulted.

Being an active art teacher, giving lessons to several classes a week, gives John the opportunity to discuss, share, demonstrate and enrich his unique style of painting with his many students. He further occupies his busy life with seminars, painting demonstrations for interested groups and art societies, writing art critiques and the judging of art shows.

When time permits, he likes to indulge in his other hobbies which cover a diverse field indeed, including camping, hiking and photography (during which he seeks out new subject material for his paintings), electronics, astro psychology and above all, philosophy. Somehow, all of these varied interests are used in the completion of his magnificent paintings.

Most viewers when introduced to John's work are pleasantly surprised and taken in by his unique style, treatment of light, attention to detail and the depth of his canvasses. His ability to capture an enormous variety of subject matter seems to be never ending.

John's work has been acknowledged world wide and his works are represented in many private and corporate collections here in Australia and Abroad.

ARTIST'S COMMENT

During the evolution of my paintings I found I could see far more colour and subtleties in common subjects than I had ever suspected existed. Almost every shadow contained reflected light and colour - a single leaf - a myriad of colours and values. Foliage and grass were not simply combinations of ochre's and green. There were brilliant reds, oranges and purples in the new growth of many eucalypts and bushes, an incredible variety of natural and reflected colours in the smooth trunks and branches, which all changed with varying light, weather and season.

Normal reference photographs are totally inadequate with their restricted values and highly questionable colour rendering Colour transparencies are much closer in colour ~ but still lack the tonal subtleties of the eye. A good "hi band" video recording comes close, but in the end all serve merely as visual/emotional reminders to initiate paintings. Interpretation is the key ingredient. I believe the role of an artist is to enhance the subject matter without losing the essence of the subject. The artist's most powerful tool in achieving this is nothing less than his/her imagination. Coupled with a skilful use of colour tone, perspective and composition, a mundane scene may be rendered so as to inspire the viewer with the painter's creative joy.

In recent years I have found that one can "push the limits" of colour in particular, by carefully balancing highly saturated areas of colour with their opposites loosely mingled together This retains the brilliance and sparkle of a green for example which has red marbled through it to reduce its apparent rawness at a distance. Pointillism utilised this principle many years ago but was laborious, somewhat stiff and artiflcial, even if the colour was fresh.

Favourite times of day for me are early morning and late afternoon where the elements of a landscape are strongly modelled with low light and are more atmospheric and emotive to the viewer These times are often fleeting, so a part from a quick colour sketch on location, I often have to use a variety of photo graphic or video equipment to "catch the moment" which may have altered dramatically in 5 minutes, particularly towards evening

I enjoy painting scenes with a great deal of depth as I can then employ a full range of tonal values and experiment with perspectives and atmospherics. My favourite subjects include mountains, rivers, outback areas, old weathered buildings, street scenes, turn of the century transport, night scenes, buildings and people. I am not greatly enthused by ultra-modern creations as artistic subjects, preferring the natural realms and those times when the pioneering spirit had not disappeared and mass media had less influence on people's lives.

I believe the role of the landscape artist is to take nature's creations and interpret and render them with all the skill and insight he or she possesses so that the viewer might feel the love and inspiration the painter experienced during the creation of the work.

Johns work is sought after by customers throughout Australia, in Japan, the U.K. and U.S.A., with several of his larger works commissioned and purchased by local business organisations including James Hardie, Aquila Steel, Borg Warner, Mercedes Benz and Tandy. Major Print Releases: John has over 200 images in print throughout the world and Australia. His works appear on limited and open edition prints, calendars, books, tapestries and place mats to name a few.

November 1993 Playfair Galleries
March 1993 Articles Gallery
October 1995 Castle Gallery
April 1996 "Steamfest"- Morpeth
September 1997 A Celebration of the Hunter
December 1998 Toowomba Bi-Centenary
November 2000 A Tribute to the Blue Mountains
June 2002 "Blue Mountains Magic" - Dural
August 2002 "Blue Mountains Magic" - Morpeth Book Release