Jon Sephton

Biography

Jon paints in oils, watercolour and ink. His paintings are often inspired by the landscape and architecture of North Yorkshire and south-west France. He seeks to explore a sense of space and belonging, with the viewer often encouraged to want to continue walking into or become part of the painting. His work aims to explore the way changing light and weather influence the landscape and our reaction to it. Jon’s work often described as quiet or serene, evoking the past or having dreamlike qualities. This could be reflected by Jon finding painting difficult if other cares or worries intrude into his mindset at the time. Jon studied art as a major part of his education degree at Sunderland Polytechnic (now Sunderland University) from 1982-86. It was here that he also formed a lifelong love of ceramics and still has a small pottery studio. After graduating, he taught for a while before making the decision to leave teaching and work as a graphic designer. Completing an HNC in graphic design at Newcastle College, he worked on design contracts and in advertising agencies before establishing a graphic design business. Today, Jon lives in south-west France where he runs a gallery selling paintings of local scenes. His paintings are in collections in the UK, France, Australia, USA, Holland and Hong Kong.