John has been painting almost all of his life. Born in England, at the age of 4 he was in a very serious road accident and spent a year in hospital but had an excellent recovery. His parents promoted art and music to protect him from further injury. But his love was the sea and so sailing was allowed. At 16 he joined the Royal Navy and served in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans. He studied art and apprenticed as a designer and architectural artist in the “Shopfitting” trade. He was very lucky to have Vic Barber as his mentor. Vic was a highly sought after artist in the architectural field and encouraged John and helped him move up to an independent position – owning his own company. He immigrated to Vancouver Canada in 1966 where he set up his own business.

His paintings have been shown by the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Marine Artists and he is the only Canadian marine artist cited in Dennis Brook-Hart’s authoritative work Twentieth Century British Marine Painting.

John was the founding president of the Canadian Society of Marine Artists.

He has produced more than 1,500 marine paintings, all of which are meticulously researched, richly detailed and technically accurate. For his series of over 50 paintings depicting Captain George Vancouver’s 18th-century voyages of exploration and discovery, Horton researched Vancouver’s routes, from Washington State through British Columbia and up to the top of Alaska 4 times on his own boat.

Many commissions have been completed over the years for collectors worldwide, including 7 coin designs for the Royal Canadian Mint. Two of his most recent commissions are extremely dissimilar –a historic painting of Amsterdam and a modern view of a refurbished 1939 yacht in Washington State. Another unique commission was reproduced as a mural in the City of Richmond. But the one with the most intriguing story is the Empress of Ireland departing Vancouver in 1934 with Babe Ruth aboard.

In 2002, as the first artist in the new “Canadian Forces Artists Programme,” he was sent to the Arabian Gulf with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) to record Canada’s naval participation in the War on Terror When he returned from the Gulf there were so many people interested in his adventure that he produced a PowerPoint presentation about the tour. This was the start of the production of many presentations and he now has another about his art, a third about perspective in art and a 4th about the history of Captain Vancouver exploring, mapping and naming the coasts of northern Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. (of great interest to collectors and sailors alike).

He is also a Canadian Naval War Artist and has produced many special paintings including 3 for the RCN’s 100th Anniversary. Paintings for the Canadian Coast Guard, the fishing and tug boat industries and Shipping Agents are also a big part of his portfolio.

At almost 90, (later this year) and for almost 40 years, John is the lead captain for the Delta Lifeboat, a part of a search and rescue organization that patrols and trains on the Fraser River south of Vancouver twice a week. The Royal Lifesaving Society’s Gold Governor’s medal was presented to him in honour of this work. At the same time, he has cruised British Columbia, Washington and Alaska on his boat giving him inspiration for his work.

He is a member of the Order of British Columbia, the highest honour the province can bestow and the Canadian Society of Marine Artists and the Master Mariners of Canada.

John receiving the King Charles III coronation medal