John Lowrie Morrison (JOLOMO)

John Lowrie Morrison is one of Scotland’s most highly regarded and leading contemporary landscape artists, whose career has spun over 40 years. 
Born in Maryhill, Glasgow, John studied Drawing & Painting at Glasgow School of Art before undertaking postgraduate studies and a Diploma in Primary/Secondary Education. During this time, he received several awards including W.O Hutchison Drawing Prize and the Landscape Travelling Scholarship, Royal Academy, London.  

For more than 25 years, John pursued a successful carer in Art education before leaving to paint full time in 1997.  Since his first solo show in 1976 he has become a towering figure in Scottish Contemporary Art, becoming best known for his paintings of the West Coast of Scotland filled with colour and passion.  John’s signature expressionist style and distinctive use of high key colour has made him one of the UK’s most popular and successful artists.  

In 2021, The Sunday Times published a series of “Scotland’s Greatest Ever…” in which John was voted amongst the top ten of Scotland’s Greatest Ever Artists. While his familiar Jolomo landscapes and red roof crofts have given him recognition, John’s career has also featured less well-known figurative and textile design works as well as striking religious paintings.
In the summer of 2013 a major Retrospective of John’s work was held in the refurbished Clydebank Museum and Art Gallery covering work from his earliest years at the age of three right up to date.  The Retrospective exhibition saw a record number of visitors with a 20,000 footfall as well as a full programme of school visits. 
In 2008, John was presented with an Honorary Doctorate from the Univeristy of the West of Scotland and in 2009 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Abertay Dundee University for “A significant contribution to Scottish Culture”.

In the 2011 New Year’s Honours List, John received an OBE for “Services to Art and Charity in Scotland”.