John Stewart

Born in 1948, John started drawing ships from a very early age, influenced by his father who had a career in shipping. As a child, he would often be taken to the docks at London and Southampton where he got to see many of the great liners. The ‘Queens,’ Union Castle Liners and The United States were all fond memories.

He studied art and design at Liverpool and Brighton Art colleges for his degree. While at Liverpool in the mid-sixties, he spent most of his time in the docks, drawing, painting and photographing the ships and dockyard life. He was to return in 1973, where he witnessed the demise of the world’s traditional merchant fleets, due to growing containerisation.

A teacher, he was to spend time as a deck hand aboard a tramp steamer and spent a year on a coastal trawler. Drawing on these experiences of ships, skies and sea, John was always able to provide first-hand reference for his paintings, which are to be found in galleries, museums and private collections around the world.

He has won various awards, including the award of excellence at The Mystic International Maritime Gallery, U.S.A in 2006.

John sadly passed away in 2022 but left behind a rich legacy of gouache and watercolour works, full of the accuracy and fine detail for which he was noted.