John Staniford
ABOUT JOHN STANIFORD
John Staniford is an established artist living in Napier. We first met John in August 2020 when we had the opportunity to visit him in his wonderful villa in Napier, a home that is vibrant and inspiring, colorful and comfortable - a true artist’s space for a true artist.
John confessed he always wanted to paint - “it was all I wanted to do” and he was encouraged too from early on, winning his first painting competition at age 7 years. He went on to attend Elam School of Art, studying under Colin McCahon who he confided was a relatively ‘harsh’ teacher who ‘challenged you and your art’. Having owned a Gallery off K’Rd in Auckland for some time, he then went on to teach art before running his own screen printing business – an influence on his life that is still evident in the ‘outline’ technique John has perfected. He has always been drawn to ‘hard-edged’ art, Leger, Picasso, for example – and has found much inspiration in Tin Tin comic book illustrations. |
Though he is a studied artist, John likes to ‘paint what he feels’. He enjoys New Zealand’s wonderful landscapes but likes to play with the images, “I paint the landscape and then I put something in it”. His style is bold and clean and the ‘something’ always provides an additional point of interest in his works.
We very much enjoy John’s approach to his landscapes, Hawkes Bay, Omapere, Rangitoto Island - all places many of us have been too and love - all captured beautifully, evoking emotion and nostalgia for the simple ‘kiwi’ life, a life we all wish to live and hope will remain.
John is as a person, gentle and strong - this can also be said of the scenes he paints. His colors blend beautifully and his outline technique brings each scene to life.
We applaud his work and invite you to enjoy it also.
We very much enjoy John’s approach to his landscapes, Hawkes Bay, Omapere, Rangitoto Island - all places many of us have been too and love - all captured beautifully, evoking emotion and nostalgia for the simple ‘kiwi’ life, a life we all wish to live and hope will remain.
John is as a person, gentle and strong - this can also be said of the scenes he paints. His colors blend beautifully and his outline technique brings each scene to life.
We applaud his work and invite you to enjoy it also.