In particular the Impressionist way of looking at the landscape by their use of colour and painting directly in front of the subject was to provide the catalyst to his own approach to the landscape. Like the Impressionists and the Group of Seven he realised this way of working brought excitement and spontaneity to the painting, in which he was able to observe nature first-hand.

John's work has recently moved away more from the pure or pristine landscape, although he still has great pleasure in painting these scenes. He has been drawn more and more to the Urban landscapes of the city, towns and rural areas lately, light, still always the dominating factor. All this seems to have happened quite unconsciously over time. He thinks this mainly happened as a result of doing life-drawing over the years which brought him to the conclusion he would like start bringing the figure back into his paintings. Now, he not only tries to capture the light but the overall hustle and bustle of the streets, with people, cars, buildings etc., which all seems to add to the excitement.

John was born in Scotland. He came to Canada in 1989, and settled in the Ottawa region.