John Virtue in-conversation with William Feaver

Born in Lancashire in 1947, Virtue studied at the Slade School of Fine Art (1965-69). Returning to Lancashire in 1971, he supported himself by working as a postman while painting and drawing the landscape, before taking the decision to paint full-time in 1985. In 1988 he moved south to Devon for 15 years, when he was appointed Associated Artist at the National Gallery, 2003-05. His work has been characterised by the complete exclusion of colour, which he has felt to be ‘an unnecessary distraction’, so that he works only in black and white in his paintings, drawings and graphics. He has expressed his admiration for 17th century Dutch landscape paintings and also those of Turner, in their condensed expression of land and sky, which he tries to match with his monochrome palette.