The art of the boatman
Written by John Macpherson
Boat art © John MacPherson
Did Jackson Pollock like boats?
He was born a long way from the sea, in Wyoming.
But if he did have a boat….
….just supposing for a moment that he might have had one…
Would it’s hull be any more artfully damaged than any other boat’s hull?
Rocktearscrapepullgrindscratchmarked?
I’d like to think it would.
Because good art comes from places that most of us cant see.
Places we least expect to find it.
But places that artists know about. Make it their business to know about.
They know to look where we others often forget to.
I didn’t see this picture. Not really.
My friend Paul told me to follow him one day.
And he showed me.
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.