Originally from Southern England John Leyland moved to Queensland in 1963. He is a self taught artist who first discovered his love for painting in his final year of school . He started displaying his art in the local galleries around the Gold Coast in the late seventies. John has traveled extensively throughout Australia, mainly due to work commitments to several positions, including boat builder, soil technician, and cook. He has always made time to paint while plying his other trades, and now focuses full time on his art. He tends to vary his subject matter, and usually has two or three pieces in various stages at the studio. They can range from classic cars to underwater reef scenes. John has always been a firm believer in “variety being the spice of life “. He uses professional grade paints and canvases to get the optimal outcome. John was most recently a finalist in the 2026 “Doyle’s art award”, and was previously awarded the “People’s Choice “at the Lighthouse art and photography festival, and “People’s Choice Award “at the 2021 Bundaberg Art Prize.