The Visit

The Visit 25cm x 35cm Original Oil on Canvas Board by John Bradley

Here John has painted this lovely rural cottage with a gum in the foreground behind which a small dirt track leads your eye back to a traditional Queensland farm house. Behind the farm house you can see the sandstone cliffs which dominate the rural area behind Ipswich. This typical rural scene captures Australia at its best. John sat under a shady tree on a sunny winter’s afternoon to paint this stunning scene. Cliffs around Ipswich seem to rise up out of the flat plains almost from nowhere. In the early morning the sunlight beams down on the sandstone cliffs making them glow whilst the shadows grow longer and give cooler nooks and crannies which help to highlight the rocky outcrops.

You will notice the painting is so real, it is as if you were standing there gazing out at this panoramic view. This is because he is able to create a great field of distance in his paintings but has the rare talent of capturing depth as well. Because John paints his paintings over a period of weeks putting on one layer of paint then applying a lacquer and allowing it to dry and then coming back 3 days later to put on the next layer he is able to build up layer upon layer of paint giving his works enormous depth just like this one. Born in Sydney in 1945, John, who has two teenage children, has been interested in drawing and painting for as long as he can remember. He is one of Australia’s most desirable artists.

John’s treatment of light on trees and foliage is unique. He uses a technique known as top lighting to capture the rays of light on the young foliage which is yellow’ pink and red when still in its tender young growth stage. When lit by rays from the sun it glows as if it is on fire. Next time you are in the bush take a close look at the trees and you will see the colours that John paints are there.

John is recognised as one of Australia’s most versatile artists, able to accurately paint Australian landscapes, seascapes, 20th century street scenes, night scenes, sunsets and sunrises, misty mornings, Blue Mountains valleys, locomotives, aircraft, lighthouses and ships.
Working in oils, John’s techniques range from traditional realist work through to impressionistic works, with broad brush strokes and palette knife techniques. John is largely self-taught and has not been influenced by any past Australian Painter. John’s real love is the Australian landscape and he travels extensively in search of new material. Some of his favourite themes include steam locomotives, sailing ships, old historic buildings and street scenes, all reminders of times when the pace of life was a little slower .