John’s father worked as a coal miner but vowed that John and his two brothers would not follow in his footsteps as a miner and none of them did so.
John, however, made two visits underground to better understand why his dad so loathed working down the pit.
After his visits, John made sketches in pencil and pastel of his observations and this watercolour painting is one of many such scenes which he produced in a variety of media. The miners are portrayed at the coalface where standing was impossible and grey dust prevailed. When lamps were switched off the darkness was indescribable.
This picture was used on the front cover of a book of the memoirs of a miner who had worked alongside John’s dad for several years. The book, ‘Sent in wi the Big Lads’, was published by the Washington History Society. It contains about twenty images of John’s artwork relating to mining and village life.
John is a Nottingham-based artist, with roots in the North East, and is known for his evocative works that delve into social history
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