About the Artist…

John Gibb was born at Hobart Tasmania in 1953, but spent the first few years of his life in the small mining town of Rossarden on the slopes of Ben Lomond. He attended Deloraine Primary and High Schools and from an early age his interest in art, particularly painting, was greatly encouraged by his parents and teachers. Following his graduation from the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education and the Tasmanian School of Art in Hobart in 1975 with a degree in Visual Arts, majoring in ceramics, he taught Visual Art at secondary schools in Launceston and Scottsdale for 20 years. He now paints full time and teaches small classes focusing on watercolour techniques for beginners and advanced painters.

John’s early venture into painting, in oils, was greatly influenced by his fascination in the work of Australian colonial artists of the Heidelberg School. Three paintings in particular are etched into his memory: Arthur Streeton’s ‘The Purple Noon’s Transparent Might’ of the Hawkesbury River on a hazy summer afternoon; David Davies’ evocative ‘Moonrise’ and Frederick McCubbin’s moving ‘Lost’, of a small, bewildered child blending into the dry, pastel colours of the Australian bush. However, it was Hans Heysen’s watercolours of Australian eucalypts that inspired him to try his hand at watercolour painting and this was further encouraged through his contact with the early works of noted Tasmanian artist, Arn Brewster and his watercolours of the Tasmanian bush.

It was whilst teaching at Scottsdale High School that John confirmed his love for watercolour painting and since then he has developed his own unique and detailed style which reflects his deep love for the natural beauty of Tasmania. He believes that Tasmania’s clear, fresh, ‘rain-washed and wind-swept’ landscapes, in particular its seascapes, naturally lend themselves to the medium of watercolour. With an eye for detail and through the use of both ‘dry’ brush and ‘wet’ brush techniques he is able to recreate the delicate textures and variations of light and colour within his selected subjects through successive layers of translucent watercolours. This individual approach to realism gives his work depth and vitality, a quality that has earned him several awards, both on the Mainland as well as in Tasmania.

John maintains a busy and productive life. He has overcome challenges of recent deafness through a successful cochlear implant. He lives at Scottsdale with his wife, Liz, and continues to relish painting and teaching. His work can be viewed at the Strickland Gallery in Davey St., Hobart, the Painted Door Gallery in Derby and the Scottsdale Art & Framing Gallery in Scottsdale or on this website.