John Molesworth’s vivacious artworks hit you in the eyes like “a wild, visual guitar solo”

John Molesworth describes himself as an artist with “fingers in many pies”. Since It’s Nice That last spoke with him, John has illustrated the cover of Vanguards Magazine, delved into ceramics and started selling his drawings at Liberty London. Describing his work as “perhaps now closer to ‘art’ than ‘illustration’, John’s pieces, with their bold and vivacious colours, hit you in the eyes like a “wild, visual guitar solo”.

Claiming that he can’t do anything “clever” and “subtle”, John uses colour to grab the attention of the viewer, “peacocking” them with an “obnoxiously loud palette”. A playful energy defines his scratchy crayon drawings; their expressive strokes sparking excitement in anyone who sees them. His pages are crowded with as much vibrant, visual information as possible. “While creating, I feel like there’s a conflict in trying to balance making the loudest visual noise with the artwork still remaining legible”, the artist jokes; “sooner, or later my work will just be scribbles on pieces of paper”.

John’s art spans an impressive range of mediums; he used to worry that his “interests were too broad”, however, he now realises it is these “broad references that make [his] work what it is”. No longer concerned about how his art will be viewed if his practice isn’t clearly defined, the artist brings a variety of elements to the table — combining painting and crayon, ceramics and art. It is this eclecticism that defines his unique style and makes his pieces so intriguing.

“I love the physicality of making things by hand,” the artist explains, “I’m always trying to remind the viewer that there’s a person making mistakes and having fun whilst making the work”. John is inspired by a variety of things, from music to American folk art, Soviet propaganda posters to nature. He prefers to work outside, stating “when I work outside I stop overthinking about how a drawing should be; it just feels like a very natural way of making”. Drawn to “the chaos of the natural world”, John’s drawings of plants are definitive of his style — colourful, odd shapes overlapping and interacting with each other in a beautiful whirl of excited and expressive colour.