The Artist
John Betham
was born in Wigan in 1947 and has lived there all his life.
His passion for art began when he was a young lad when he used
to sketch still life and family members and friends. He wanted
to portray the people and objects that made up a typical northern
home and he still has some of these original works to this day.
John went
into the printing trade and it wasn't until much later in life,
in his 40s, that John found his art again for several years
and painted in oils for the first time, building up a fine collection
of Victorian scenes, people and animals. Once more John had
a break from his art to pursue other interests .
In October
2008 he returned to the grass roots of his work to create his
northern street scenes which typifies the terraced communities
where he was brought up in the late fifties and sixties. This
he believes was an era when there was a much greater sense of
community spirit and the streets were more neighbourly and places
of play for children. He uses bold colours in some of his work
to represent how life felt then.
In each
of his paintings John includes a tribute to Jacob who is the
grandson of his wife Christine. Sadly Jacob died in 2004 just
3 years old from Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. He was a tremendous
little boy who had a great spirit and character and a Charity
was established in his memory called J-U-M-P. Jacobs Unique
Memory Pot
The Charity
provides a professional photography service for children that
have life limiting conditions , to capture their own special
and precious family memories, just as John creates in his Art
If you would
like to know more about John's Art or arrange a viewing please
contact him on 01942 223 094.
