be better off to accept what I have
done as part of the immediacy of
the artistic encounter. I guess, in the
end, it is the artist who must decide.
THE OVERALL PROCESS
I suspect that my approach to
painting is tempered by my life’s
experiences of having witnessed
most forms of human suffering- from the mutilations of a war
zone to the distress of patients
with terminal illnesses. Therefore, I
see my art as a celebration of the
beauty of my environment and, at
times, of man’s intrusion into it.
Although intellectual and emotional
engagement are important ingredients
FOR YOUR INFFOR YOUR INFOO
About the Author
John Gillies was born in Christchurch,
New Zealand. He was educated at St
Andrew’s College, Christchurch; and
served with the Combined Services
Medical Team and the First Australian
Logistic Support Group in South Vietnam
from December 1969 to February- He graduated MB, ChB in 1971
and qualified Physician, FRACP in - In 2007, he retired as Specialist
Physician and Clinical Director of
Respiratory Medicine for the Canterbury
District Health Board – to become a
full-time artist and portrait painter.
John studied figure drawing under
sculptor Tom Taylor as a preparatory
school student, and developed a
special interest in portrait painting
under Tom Field as a secondary school
student. He studied human anatomy
by cadaver dissection as a medical
student at the Otago University Medical
School in Dunedin, New Zealand.
This artist’s work has been widely
exhibited. He supplies galleries
including Merivale Fine Arts in
Christchurch, Novo Gallery in
Dunedin, Saffron Gallery in Timaru,
and Rutherford Gallery in Nelson.
He has done portrait commissions for
Arthur Barnett’s (Dunedin), University
of Otago Medical School (Dunedin),
St Andrew’s College (Christchurch),
The Christchurch Hospital, The
Princess Margaret Hospital
(Christchurch), The Christchurch
Clinical School of Medicine, and
The Isaac Theatre Royal Trust.
In 2008, the artist published the book
‘In My Chair’ – a collection of 60
portraits of prominent Cantabrians,
featuring biographies by David McPhail
and an introduction by David McPhail
and Jon Gadsby. He also published
a CD calendar for 2010 – featuring
scenes of Canterbury cricket.
He has received awards including the
Telecom Art Award, highly commended,
in 1992; the New Zealand Wearable
Art Award, creative excellence, in 1998;
and the Montana World of Wearable
Art Award, section winner, in 2005.
Murray CrawfurdNan Grant