Being from a very poor family of 2 brothers and 4 sisters I soon realised that I could not have a lot of the things in life I desperately wanted, spending most of my days alone and in my bedroom I discovered that in a strange way that if I could draw something in great detail that I really wanted or admired, I could then somehow own it, perhaps more than anybody else possibly could.
Drawing these things not only allowed me to own them on paper, but almost allowed me to almost consume them in my imagination forever.
I look at art as not only a way of understanding the world around me but also as a reminder of how endless your imagination can be. – John Bates
My name is John Bates, I was born in Glasgow and due to desperate family circumstances we then moved to Stirling when I was a young child.
Latest posts by John Bates (see all)
- Portraits by John Bates - 14th October 2016