Tribute has been paid to an inspirational South Holland artist whose funeral takes place on Tuesday.
John Gray and his partner Helen Webber had run Riverbank Studios in Spalding for many years.
John died last month at the age of 82 and there will be a service to celebrate his life at the South Lincs Crematorium, Surfleet, at 3pm on Tuesday.
Helen, his partner of 47 years, says she will continue with classes at the studio from next month.
The couple met purely by chance on a train to Boston where they were both being interviewed for the same position.
“I got the job – a fellowship for a community artist when the Lincs and Humberside Arts still existed. He then applied for a fellowship at Nottingham University which he successfully achieved.
“He did a lot of setting up of evening classes for me, and he was there nearly as much as I was.
“He had been living in Hull and London where he sold prints of pictures of the city from a pitch in Tower Hill,” added Helen.
After John’s two years at Nottingham, the couple needed somewhere to live and took on a cottage in Cowbit which had no bathroom and was in need of work.
“We were there for three years and converted a cow shed into a studio. It was idyllic but it was also quite hard. We taught some evening classes to help raise money for it.”
In 1986 John found the building which was to become Riverside Studio.
“It was all very much run on less than a shoestring and we were able to sort out the electrics and wiring with an advance fee,” said Helen.
Born in Greenock and educated in Edinburgh, John studied painting in London, Guildford and Hull.
He has had many exhibitions and his work is included in both public and private collections of modern art.
“He taught many people, some have gone on to be artists themselves. He was very inspiring,” said Helen.
John’s art was on a grand scale and he completed a series of canvases depicting an image of his native city of Edinburgh. He lived there until 1963 and it was also home to his father and grandfather.
John was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx in October 2019 but was given the all clear just before Covid struck.
He had regular check-ups but in May and June this year he was having trouble swallowing and was tired all he time.
“His larynx was still clear but he had chest and neck cancer and we spent the summer going backwards and forward to hospital,” said Helen.
He died on August 24 at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital.
Helen has requested family flowers only for the service on Tuesday.
