Sir Jackie is the President of Dyslexia Scotland and Jonathan donated his painting of him in the 1969 Grand Prix in Germany to raise funds for the organization.
“This is a new subject area for me because I am a landscape painter,” says Jonathan. “I selected an image from the 1969 Grand Prix in Germany showing Sir Jackie’s car actually leaving the ground. I thought this would make a great painting and he agreed; it was a memorable Grand Prix for him. He told me it was a very raw experience racing a car in those days compared to today with all the technology we have. His input was fantastic. He told me things about the car which were not so clear from the photo. For instance, the front spoilers were just plain aluminium - details I could not work out from the rather blurred photo. There’s a great sense of speed and dynamism and I knew it would make a terrific painting.”
While Jonathan does not consider himself dyslexic he admits: “I was a poor speller at school – ‘word blind’ - was the term in those days. I think it’s possible to be dyslexic by degrees so perhaps I have a mild form. Certainly, I am very visually dependent.”
Jonathan’s original painting was sold by Bonhams for £5,000.
Jonathan studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art attaining a BA (Hons) Fine Art in 1990. He was awarded The Pat Holms Memorial Prize for Drawing in 1987. While exhibiting primarily in Scotland, Jonathan's detailed and atmospheric paintings of rural and urban Britain feature in private and corporate collections throughout the UK and internationally. Several high profile publishing projects have also facilitated the spread of his work to an international audience. "My aim is to show my work to a much greater extent outside Scotland," he says.
