# John Sturgess — Painter in Lower Hutt, New Zealand Canonical: https://johnsturgess.com/ John Sturgess makes paintings at home in Taita, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Space, wild seas, flying machines and mushroom houses all find a place in his work. Ideas come while he’s watching television or sitting in a café, and he paints what catches his attention. Some pictures record journeys he’s made, with dates and notes written into them. Others take him somewhere imagined. He began painting in early 2013. In 2024, three of his works were included in *The Mongoose and the Snake* at Jhana Millers Gallery in Wellington. [About John](https://johnsturgess.com/about/) [![Detail: Waves and lightning.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-01.DczALrYG_Z4Vo6A.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/01/)[![Detail: Mushroom house.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-03.3i69liVf_Z280cyd.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/03/)[![Detail: Aircraft over mountains.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-07.B42_QEyA_ZwLgqp.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/07/)[![Detail: Cat-like face.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-11.BfnqZV3y_Z1HvlMb.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/11/)[![Detail: Lightning and a church.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-02.Csa-sUeV_Z2g5X5o.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/02/)[![Detail: Bear with a purple scarf.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-12.DUFmnBkQ_Z1CTCGB.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/12/)[![Detail: Ship beneath the moon.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-08.Co9bVJbt_Z2d5mIj.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/08/)[![Detail: Vehicle in a desert.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-04.pYBmbtjQ_Zi54fp.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/04/) ## Archive John’s paintings often return to the things that fascinate him: lightning, tsunamis, the sea and the vastness of space. Some skies have eyes looking back. Much of his space work is simply about the wonder of what’s out there. The archive currently holds 14 paintings. Shared traits, including [Space](https://johnsturgess.com/archive/?trait=space), [Nature](https://johnsturgess.com/archive/?trait=nature) and [Transport](https://johnsturgess.com/archive/?trait=transport), offer different ways through them. Each painting has its own full photograph and record. [Explore the archive](https://johnsturgess.com/archive/) - [![Detail: Waves and lightning.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-01.DczALrYG_f74BJ.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/01/) - [![Detail: Lightning and a church.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-02.Csa-sUeV_Z1V2um4.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/02/) - [![Detail: Mushroom house.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-03.3i69liVf_Z1MVIOS.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/03/) - [![Detail: Vehicle in a desert.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-04.pYBmbtjQ_1XosU.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/04/) - [![Detail: Castle in the mist.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-05.BMNeK_02_Z1PErkD.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/05/) - [![Detail: Containers over rough seas.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-06.BKJ9TnJO_Z1rhqK7.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/06/) - [![Detail: Aircraft over mountains.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-07.B42_QEyA_ZcHMH5.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/07/) - [![Detail: Ship beneath the moon.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-08.Co9bVJbt_Z1S1SYY.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/08/) - [![Detail: Gizmo and hospital food.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-09.GC_gUb9o_ZT9Cg7.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/09/) - [![Detail: Tall grey building.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-10.D6F3RD7d_Z14zTEH.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/10/) - [![Detail: Cat-like face.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-11.BfnqZV3y_Z1nrS3Q.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/11/) - [![Detail: Bear with a purple scarf.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-12.DUFmnBkQ_Z1iQ9Xh.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/12/) - [![Detail: Space lettering.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-13.D7iqnHfh_ZfXhif.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/13/) - [![Detail: Passenger aircraft.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-14.C1r3OE4L_Z1AQzlc.webp)](https://johnsturgess.com/work/14/) Gizmo is John’s teddy bear and lifelong companion. His full title is OBE PhD PI: professional idiot. John loves telling people this and often cracks up in the telling. Gizmo also has a life in the paintings, with adventures of his own. [Meet Gizmo](https://johnsturgess.com/about/gizmo/) John’s home is also his studio. Paintings hang on the walls and model planes sit on the shelves. He works at a small table in the kitchen, surrounded by the things he likes to paint. Allan’s photographs show John at work and at home, along with a few details from the studio. [Studio](https://johnsturgess.com/studio/) ![John sitting at home with aircraft and space pictures on the walls behind him.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/studio-12.DiQDhndL_21SD6y.webp) ## Overall Stats **Paintings in the archive** 14 **Traits** 33 **For sale** Unknown ## Archive Index [Explore the archive](https://johnsturgess.com/archive/) - [![Detail: Waves and lightning.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-01.DczALrYG_Zq3xjP.webp) Stormy Sea Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/01/) - [![Detail: Lightning and a church.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-02.Csa-sUeV_2sY1vi.webp) Lightning Strike Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/02/) - [![Detail: Mushroom house.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-03.3i69liVf_Z2t7lLs.webp) Mushroom House Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/03/) - [![Detail: Vehicle in a desert.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-04.pYBmbtjQ_ZDcdsE.webp) Desert Drive Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/04/) - [![Detail: Castle in the mist.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-05.BMNeK_02_Z2vP4hd.webp) Misty Castle Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/05/) - [![Detail: Containers over rough seas.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-06.BKJ9TnJO_Z27s3GG.webp) Rough Seas Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/06/) - [![Detail: Aircraft over mountains.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-07.B42_QEyA_ZRSpDE.webp) Night Flight Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/07/) - [![Detail: Ship beneath the moon.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-08.Co9bVJbt_2vYBRn.webp) Ocean Queen Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/08/) - [![Detail: Gizmo and hospital food.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-09.GC_gUb9o_Z1zkfcG.webp) Hospital Food Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/09/) - [![Detail: Tall grey building.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-10.D6F3RD7d_Z1JKwBh.webp) Grey Tower Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/10/) - [![Detail: Cat-like face.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-11.BfnqZV3y_Z23Cv0q.webp) Cosmic Cat Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/11/) - [![Detail: Bear with a purple scarf.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-12.DUFmnBkQ_Z1Y1LTQ.webp) Gizmo Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/12/) - [![Detail: Space lettering.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-13.D7iqnHfh_ZV8TeO.webp) Final Frontier Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/13/) - [![Detail: Passenger aircraft.](https://johnsturgess.com/_astro/painting-14.C1r3OE4L_Z2h2chL.webp) Pan Am Status unknown Year unknown](https://johnsturgess.com/work/14/)