The art of John Lowerson
Born 60 years ago in a small terraced house at Gateshead on the south bank of the River Tyne in Co. Durham, John Lowerson’s family then moved to nearby Leam Lane, one of the newest and largest ever council-built estates.
On reaching maturity he went to college in Lancaster before teaching art and design for further education students in Manchester. An MA in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent University followed which saw him teaching in that area before working in forensic occupational secure therapy units for Nottinghamshire NHS.
When interviewed at the time about his art he admitted to making life-size cardboard Daleks and several plywood kayaks! Sculpture, as well as furniture design and manufacture were also on the menu.
Asked if any of his paintings could be found in public places he disclosed that the French oil company, ELF, had once bought an abstract canvas for the reception area of their head office in Cheshire. However, he thought it was more to do with the colour scheme matching their logo than the excellence of the work in question!
Like many artists, John’s unique style is based on his previous life and experience. During the Second World War his father piloted Lancaster bombers out of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and he readily admits to a distinct nostalgic and historical perspective in all his art.
He remembers painting at primary school and being fascinated by the shapes of the letters of the alphabet, and this at a time of relative austerity when supplies were not always available. Times change, though, and every painting he now produces is evocative of an earlier age, suggesting a wistful link to his childhood and adolescence.
Children can remember detail and many of his stark background scenes will be familiar to older readers, landscapes which John describes as both important and absorbing. The northern hills and moors feature prominently, especially in his watercolours, which measure about 40 cms. x 25 cms.
British cars and motorcycles from the Fifties and Sixties figure a great deal as they made up the vast majority of vehicles on English roads at the time. Foreign imports were relatively rare until they began to flood the market during the Seventies, firstly with motorcycles and then with motor cars. It was also important to John that his vehicle images were not glamorised, something which is clearly reflected in the absence of expensive models only available to the rich.
He now lives in the village of Hetton-le-hole in his native Co. Durham and, since returning to the North East, classic steam locomotives have been added to his art portfolio, which he attributes to railway heritage in general but particularly the building of 60163 “Tornado” which emerged from Darlington works in 2008, the first main line steam engine to be built from scratch in modern times.
Are John’s transport paintings nostalgic, atmospheric and pleasing on the eye? Most certainly!