Artist's Portfolio

John Dodson

Born in London, I attended the Christopher Wren School in Notting Hill Gate before going on to study Graphic Design at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts, under the charismatic influence of George Adams - ex Bauhaus, Tom Eckersley – renowned poster artist of the day, and society portrait painter Gerald de Rose. The next thirty years I spent in advertising as an Art Director/Creative Director at various top London agencies, including Mather & Crowther, Colmans, FCB, Leo Burnett, and Doyle Dane Bernbach. I quit advertising in 1990, and my wife and I moved to Devon so that I could spend more time painting.

The pioneering documentary films of John Grierson (Night Mail, The Coal Face, The Engine Shed), which focused on the everyday lives of manual workers, were my inspiration, along with the Northern landscapes by the artist William Coldstream. The powerful industrial and First World War images by the painter C R W Nevinson were also an important influence. I have exhibited by work in Bath, Bideford at the Burton, Bristol at the RWA, Exeter, Plymouth and Totnes.