A PIONEERING Saddleworth artist, who made the area his home and inspiration, has died.
John McCombs admitted he was intrigued by the name Delph after a day trip with a friend ended up being a life-changing experience.
However, he passed away on Tuesday, January 14 at Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, aged 81.
Originally from the Harpurhey area of Manchester, John was a member of The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, The Royal Society of British Artists, The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts and The Saddleworth Group of Artists.
He graduated from St Martin’s School of Art in London in 1967. His final exam marks were the highest on record for 25 years and the head of painting, Frederick Gore, offered him a job there.
But a day trip with a friend, looking for somewhere to walk, and going wherever the bus took them, changed his life.
John told Saddleworth Voices: “Suddenly, Saddleworth opened out in front of us covered in glistening white snow under winter morning sunshine. I was enchanted.
“We arrived at Delph. The name reminded me of Delft and the Dutch painter Vermeer.
“I looked down the street with snow on the ground and thought this is where I want to paint – the hills and houses and dry stone walls rather than scenes of London, paintings of the Tame rather than the Thames.”
At the age of nine, John was drawing a picture of a galleon and his father said: “Eee, that’s good” and bought him a proper sketch pad and a box of Lakeland pencil crayons.
John remembered: “It was like opening a lid on to a rainbow. I didn’t want to disturb them.”
Later, his father bought him watercolours and filled the walls of the house with prints by John Constable. John pestered his dad for oil paints and his dad finally bought some.
“The first time I took a cap off a tube and smelled the paint, I knew this was a posh smell!” he added. “It was malleable and you could play with the colours.”
At 11-years-old, John completed a drawing of an interior of Exeter Cathedral and showed it to his art teacher, James Callaghan – who later became MP for Middleton and Heywood.
John eventually opened the John McCombs Gallery on King Street in Delph and worked in private collections all over the world, as well as public collections in the north west.
He also illustrated many art books, magazines and had works shown on television.
His first studio was in Dobcross, a result of helpful advice from the writer and playwright Henry Livings, who had bought John a pint on his first visit to The Swan.
John began to discover Saddleworth, painting landscapes of bleak beauty, Morris dancers, garland dancers, and brass bands.
He also taught classes at Saddleworth School and at Counthill School in Oldham “so I wasn’t stuck in the studio all the time.”
However, too much time away from painting meant he gave up teaching, except for one evening class he had for decades.
John found a studio in Delph when the late Rev Edward Lewis offered him a room in the Independent Church Sunday School building.
He recalled: “It was snowing, it was twilight. I could see lights coming on and smoke curling from the chimneys.
“I had a marvellous feeling and decided to do an oil painting. I had come back to the medium I loved and my intention was to make a total visual record of Delph and the surrounding landscape in all of the seasons.”
In 1970, John delivered an invitation for his first exhibition to LS Lowry at his home in Mottram.
John knocked at his door. “You’d better come in,” said the great man, and John stayed and talked with him all afternoon.
Lowry advised John to join a Royal Art Society to enable exhibiting in London “where the country will get to know you.”
John became chairman of Saddleworth Crafts Co-operative, which paid tribute, saying: “John was much respected, much loved and will be sorely missed by us all here and in the local community.”
Ant Cosgrove, of the Northern Art podcast, added: “He was a great influencer, instructor and inspiration to many artists. He held classes and gave many people great advice.”
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