JOLOMO - John Lowrie Morrison

Photo by George Birrell

John Lowrie Morrison is an artist whose artistic expression is a perfect blend of technique and finely honed skills, refined over time, all combined with a contemplative sensibility and a poetic ability to transform vision of the landscape into a magical yet tangible reality.

From such a combination emerges a maturity of expression that is as compelling as the mermaid's song is for the fisherman at sea.

The underlying expression of his work is so seductive, bright and filled with light that the viewer is transported into their own idyllic world, a kind of dream that is both uplifting and restful for the mind.

For Jolomo painting is a compulsion..."painting is breathing, you have to do it!"

John Lowrie Morrison is a prolific painter and yet even if you have seen one hundred of his paintings the surprising impression given with each and every one is that you have never seen anything like it before! From the solitude of western Scotland come paintings of enormous energy, invigorating, the strength of colour and inherent natural power offering the viewer an intense experience.

"In a sometimes depressing world, I want to create a feeling of joy and happiness"

In the last four years John Lowrie Morrison has had more than twenty one-man exhibitions and been included in many more group exhibitions. His popularity is such that his paintings often sell out and are to be found in both public and private collections in Britain as well as throughout Europe and the USA, Australia and in Hong Kong.

• 1948 Born Glasgow
• 1952-59 Dowanhill Primary School, Glasgow
• 1959-60 Hyndland Prep School, Glasgow
• 1960-67 Hyndland Secondary School, Glasgow
• 1967-71 Studied Glasgow School of Art, Drawing and Painting
• 1968 Worked for Templeton's Carpets Glasgow, designing Norsk Rugs. Met wife Maureen.
• 1970 Visited Switzerland, where high key colour first entered palette.
• 1971 Developed distinctive expressive painting style
• 1971 Taught evening class, Glasgow
• 1971 WO Hutchison Drawing Prize
• 1971-72 Post Graduate study, GSA - mainly figurative work.
• 1972 Travelling Scholarship, Royal Academy Schools, London.
• 1972-73 Dip.Ed. Prim/Sec. Jordanhill College, Glasgow.
• 1973-88 Moved to Argyll - teaching in Lochgilphead High School and twelve Mid Argyll Primary Schools.
• 1978 Moved to Tayvallich in the depths of Knapdale, Argyll.
• 1982 Painted on Harris and visited family croft at Kyles
• 1983 Painted in Holland.

• 1984 Began signing paintings with 'JOLOMO'
• 1988-94 Principal Teacher of Art, Lochgilphead High, Argyll.
• 1989 Painted in Holland.
• 1990 Painted in the Loire area of France - developed use of high key colour.
• 1993 Painted in South Uist - further developing colour.
• 1994-96 Art Adviser, Strathclyde Region.
• 1995 Painted in the Duras area of Southern France.
• 1996 Took job severance form Strathclyde to paint and work as a Art Adviser, working privately for 'Glasgow School of Art Education', 'NSEAD', 'Glasgow Museums', 'The Scottish Office Higher Still Programme', 'The Design Council' and many Scottish Schools.
• 1997 Severed all educational links to paint full time.
• 1997-01 Paints constantly on islands of Mull, Iona, Gigha, Islay, Luing, Seil, and Ardnamurchan, Kintyre, and West Argyll.

Work in many public and private collections throughout the world:

UK, Northern Ireland, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Iceland, Australia, Italy, Brazil, Israel and Switzerland.

Within USA:
Texas, Vermont, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Chicago, New York, Beverley Hills, Los Angeles and Boston.

Within Scotland:
Bank of Scotland, Argyll and Bute Health Trust, TSB HQ, Inland Revenue, Edinburgh, The High Court, Edinburgh, Cairn Energy, Trinity Gas.

Ecosse Fine Art of Edinburgh produce best selling prints of four paintings by Lowrie Morrison available throughout UK and parts of America. Meikle Scottish Contemporary Art of Lochgilphead produce two limited edition prints and four open edition prints.