Another shade of blue

Another artist that I came across while leafing through catalogues in Cornwall was John Miller, who was born in London in 1931 and started painting as a teenager. Online he is described as follows:

"His first main career was as an architect and after a visit to West Cornwall in the mid-fifties he returned to live there in 1958 with Michael Truscott. He was elected to the Newlyn Society of Artists in 1961 and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1964.

He went on to show in London, New York, Vancouver and Europe and made many broadcasts and television appearances. Visiting the Isles of Scilly led to the beach paintings, and after living at Sancreed for many years he painted from a house on the beach at Lelant where some of his most evocative paintings were done. Travels in places such as Goa and Greece also influenced his paintings, as did his deep spiritual and religious beliefs, which shine through the colour and intensity of the images.


The blue and white images of beaches, sky and sea have become a trademark of both his artistic style and personality. Rock star Chris Rea required an image for ‘King of the Beach’, and chose a painting by John Miller for the CD cover. His paintings have decorated the walls of TV’s ‘Eastenders’, and the set of John Boorman’s film ‘The Tailor of Panama’.

In 1989, he published an autobiography, “Leave Tomorrow Behind”. After a short illness he died on Tuesday 23rd July 2002, at his home in Penzance. The memorial exhibition included a selection of paintings inspired by his last trip to Goa alongside works in both oil and gouache of his beloved Cornwall. Further reading: Another Shade Of Blue and John Miller 1931-2002: Seeing Is Believing."

My initial impression from a brief look at Miller's work is that his 'spiritual' works exemplify what has become a common and now clichéd feature of 'spiritual' or 'prophetic' painting i.e. a single colour field with a sole figure spotlit in a celestial beam of light.

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Deacon Blue - Swaying Arms.