John Brocke

John Brock was born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1953. He grew up in Dawson Creek, BC, after moving there with his family at the age of eight. Born with enormous natural talent, he was admitted, with advanced standing, directly into second year at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary where he was awarded the Province of Alberta Prize in 1979-80 and the Talens Canadian Agencies Scholarship in 1980-81. He graduated from ACA in 1981 and received the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Art Assistance Grant in 1982. After graduation, he set up his studio, taught night classes at the Alberta College of Art in the Continuing Education program and worked as a scenic painter for film and stage. In 2006, he moved with his family to the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia with the intention of devoting his time exclusively to painting.

One of the most accomplished practitioners in a group of young, realist painters that evolved in the nineteen-eighties, Brock received much attention for his paintings before his life abruptly came to an end due to a car accident at the age of 55. During his short career, he managed to complete a very small number of works because of the detailed and painstaking nature of his working method. A painting would generally take months to complete and as a consequence, his surviving paintings are appreciated for their rarity as well as for their quality.

Brock's paintings were featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout Canada and his work is represented in many public and private collections.