Painter John Stoa has been a fixture of Dundee’s local art scene – as well as its allotments – for many years, but the artist’s latest exhibition is about more than the paintings on the walls.
John’s newest show, Artistic Adventures In All Seasons, will double as a charity fundraiser for a cause close to his heart, with 50% of all the profits going to Cancer Research UK.
The 77-year-old artist, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago, spoke of the camaraderie among cancer patients in Dundee. He reckons every small way to help is valuable in the fight against the disease.
“They can kill the cancer – and you hope like hell it’s killed,” says John. “But you’re never sure.
“You then realise, when you’re mixing with other people that have got it, that we’re all in the same boat.
“You don’t often talk about your problems – it’s too personal. But it doesn’t stop you having them. And if they could get a cure… you know, they’re working on things like that. So I’m very happy to support them.”
Hope that folk ‘shop local’ for art
A prolific member of Dundee and Broughty Ferry art societies, John’s exhibition includes years’ worth of paintings set in Courier Country which, due to Covid, have not been shown as widely as they ordinarily would have been.
He hopes that this latest exhibition at his Menzieshill Road home studio, Original Art, will draw out folk who are looking for a taste of local art.
“With Covid, it’s been quite difficult, because all the markets have been closing down and folk haven’t been coming out,” he remarks.
“If you keep painting, you end up with a lot, and you’ve not got a chance to get them out to the market because everything’s quietened down.”
John is a student of acclaimed Dundonian painter James McIntosh Patrick, and with a section dedicated to the quaint buildings of Rait, a Dundee room, a snow scene room and even an erotic room for figurative paintings, his Artistic Adventures show promises a rare variety from one artist.
Speaking of his work, John says: “Some people concentrate on a topic and keep doing variations on a theme – there’s stacks of artists that do that. They get a following, and that’s good.
“But me, I’ve always just tended to walk around and look. I might look at a flower, or a sunset. Even up at the allotment – the sun catches the corner of a shed, or a bright door, or a dilapidated fence, and the artist’s eye is able to see things there.
“And in a painting, you don’t have to paint reality. You can modify it.”
Art worth stopping the car for
Rarely out without his trusty camera, John often snaps photographs to paint from later – meaning he can find as many as ten good painting ideas from just one trip.
“I can recall once driving on the M8 from Edinburgh to Glasgow,” he smiles. “I looked over and there was a cracking view!
“And I thought, ‘I’m on a motorway, I’m not supposed to stop’ – but I got into the side anyway. Hazard lights on, out with the camera, took the photo, back in and again and off I went! No bother!”
Artistic Adventures In All Seasons will be on show at Original Art Studios, Dundee, from October 30 to November 7, 11am-5pm each day.