One of Scotland’s top artists, whose paintings have been bought by popstar Madonna, has a "rare" new exhibition in Glasgow.
John Lowrie Morrison - who is known as “Jolomo” - celebrates the high-key colour for which he is best known in The Power of Colour, which opens to the public today, Monday, November 3, 2025, at the Glasgow Gallery, Bath Street.
Since he began to paint full-time in 1997, John's trademark use of expressive colour has made him one of Scotland’s most successful and best-loved painters, winning him thousands of fans.
His paintings are in the collections of HRH The Princess Royal, Dame Anne Gloag, Sting, Madonna and Gregor Fisher.
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“To me, paintings should be about colour,” he says. “Sometimes I’ve wondered if I actually see colours more brightly than most people do.
“I’ve loved colour for a long, long time, since I was a small child.
"I remember when I was about four years old being given a wet piece of paper and some really bright chalk — I just loved it.
“I paint my world the way I see it rather than the way it actually is.
"When I paint a landscape, the colours bring out feelings and a sense of place. It’s about expressiveness.
“Colours make the world vibrant and beautiful. I hope my paintings help lift people’s spirits — the greatest thing you can do is to make people happy.”
The Power of Colour features 38 paintings which demonstrate John’s use of high-key colour across a range of subjects including landscapes, seascapes and still lifes.
For the first time in some years, the show includes a selection of flower paintings, which he paints from life in the studio.
It also features paintings of the Isle of Arran showing landmarks such as Goatfell, Pladda Lighthouse and the iconic view to Ailsa Craig.
The Glasgow Gallery exhibition, which runs until 29 November, is a rare opportunity for art lovers in the Central Belt to enjoy new Jolomo paintings straight from the studio.
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John Lowrie Morrison was born in Glasgow and trained at the Glasgow School of Art.
He worked in art education for 25 years, continuing to pursue his own painting, and has been a full-time artist since 1997.
He has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of the West of Scotland and the University of Abertay, Dundee.
In 2011, he was appointed an OBE for services to art and charity in Scotland, and in November 2017, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Great London Scot Awards.
He has had retrospective exhibitions at Clydebank Town Hall Museum & Art Gallery (2013) and the Maclaurin Gallery, Rozelle House, Ayr (2021) and had a showcase exhibition at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, which attracted thousands of visitors.
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