The art of finding one's passion
Having trained as a professional musician, John Braithwaite was Principal Oboe and leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain for several years , and was awarded the Bulgin Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. John then qualified as an architect and ran a successful practice for nearly 35 years with his wife Nicki. During this time, he became Chairman of Opera South in Haslemere, a semi-professional opera company, for which he designed and built all of their sets over a period of 25 years.
In 2016, John retired from architecture and opera to pursue a new art: painting. Despite never having picked up a paintbrush before, John developed a keen interest in capturing the strikingly subtle qualities of light and reflections on canvas. He favours acrylic as an accessible medium for expressing his subjects, which tend to focus on seascapes and landscapes. John's influences include Turner and the Russian artist Aivazovsky, amongst others.
Several of John's paintings are already in Private Collections but a number are for sale. He also accepts personal commissions for persuasive individuals. The matter of framing paintings is highly subjective, so John recommends that prospective purchasers discuss their vision for framing with him which he is then happy to arrange.
John held his first Exhibition of paintings at the Haslemere Museum in 2021.
In 2016, John retired from architecture and opera to pursue a new art: painting. Despite never having picked up a paintbrush before, John developed a keen interest in capturing the strikingly subtle qualities of light and reflections on canvas. He favours acrylic as an accessible medium for expressing his subjects, which tend to focus on seascapes and landscapes. John's influences include Turner and the Russian artist Aivazovsky, amongst others.
Several of John's paintings are already in Private Collections but a number are for sale. He also accepts personal commissions for persuasive individuals. The matter of framing paintings is highly subjective, so John recommends that prospective purchasers discuss their vision for framing with him which he is then happy to arrange.
John held his first Exhibition of paintings at the Haslemere Museum in 2021.