John Waterhouse’s beautiful, atmospheric compositions are inspired by his upbringing in the countryside of Staffordshire, where he began to appreciate the character of individual trees and landforms and began to feel the importance of portraying the landscape’s true character. After gaining exceptional marks for art in school, Waterhouse worked as a storekeeper before beginning to paint full time in 2000, devoting a day or two a week to working with the youth at a local prison and teaching them how to paint.

Waterhouse gains inspiration for his paintings by observing the misty English countryside. “When painting a landscape, a lot of the information is there, but more often than not something extra needs to be added, or changed slightly,” Waterhouse notes. “With landscapes I feel it is not so much an idea, but an ability to balance and compose…what is already there. I find the English countryside very romantic. Fields and trees to me have their own character and history, just as a person does.” This attention to the details of the land’s character makes Waterhouse’s work markedly different from much other landscape painting. With near photographic realism, Waterhouse conveys complex emotions that move any viewer who, like Waterhouse as he paints, takes the time to really, truly look.