John Hurford

John Hurford was born on a farm in North Devon where he still lives. He grew up helping on the farm and was fascinated by all the creatures, flowers and trees he saw around him. He collected bones, skulls, dead animals, seed pods, owl and buzzard pellets to find out what was inside. He sketched all that he saw and when still in primary school won a competition in the "Farmers Weekly" when he made a book following the life of a chicken from egg to adult.

He has never had formal training in art, preferring to find his own way with techniques and media. In the late sixties there was a proliferation of "counter culture" magazines and newspapers and he submitted work to them. He was published by OZ, International Times, Gandalfs Garden, Nasty Tales, It's all lies and Voices. This led eventually to writing and illustrating books. He painted in the evenings while working on the farm. In 2001 he decided to paint full time.

John has had many joint and solo exhibitions and is an honorary member of the South West Academy and a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Arts. His work has been reproduced in many magazines and books since the nineteen sixties and his early work is in the collection of the V&A museum. He has been shown in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, The Whitney in New York and The Tate Gallery in Liverpool.

Click here to see our collection of published prints by John.