About John Impey,

I was born at Hastings Victoria in 1947, 2 years later my father was transferred to the UK with the Australian Navy, three and a half years later we returned to Australia, moved to Panania Sydney N.S.W, this back in 1950,s was a bush suburb with loads of wild life, but only 18 months later we were all transferred back to the UK, this time for 4 years, but we did live in the outer suburb of Portsmouth which was a country life style.

After returning to Australia, dad was stationed in Melbourne but we lived in Frankston Victoria, at weekends and holidays we camped at Cape Schanck good fishing and great wildlife not forgetting all the Kangaroos.

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After 3 years we were stationed back to Sydney we moved to Revesby, where as a teenager I bred and sold Budgerigars, dad left the Navy, and as a hobby bred and showed three breeds of dogs, this was my start of close links to birds and domestic animals, dad purchased a holiday place at Currarong for holidays, parrots, kangaroos, wallabies back in the 1960,s this was a wildlife heaven it’s no wonder I was draw towards wildlife. 

 

My parents had purchased a nursery which after leaving school I worked in and mum started up two florist business where she employed a young girl called Pam, who in 1969 became my wife, we started our own nursery this I’m sure helped with my knowledge of plants in my art work.

We have three children two sons and a daughter, one son owns a cattle stud so a lot more animal pictures, the other son and daughter have country properties with all kinds of wildlife I just could not escape it.

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Now the part that changed my life forever, in 1984 I was found to have Breast Cancer (yes men get breast cancer) thanks to my wife who made me go to the doctor as I dismissed it as been nothing to worry about, how wrong I was, it was a very aggressive cancer, after major surgery and five weeks of heavy radiation on my left chest over my heart this changed my life. After two years and many broken ribs due to the radiation I was back at work not as we had been but a whole new business in the tourist trade and then running a successful courier business and this is where the worst change starts after 30 years the radiation had damaged my heart and twisted all my arteries, I was running with  95% blocked arteries and could only walk about 20 meters with no medical help available, as the doctors cannot do open heart surgery on radiated bones, I was told to go home and wait for the end, No Thank You, so I turned to painting, read, watched, learnt and painted, it’s given me a new lease on life, lucky modern medicine has helped me to go on, my love is to bring wildlife to life on canvas,this gives me sure joy, my true love is doing commission work for people’s animals to see the look on their faces when they see their loved ones in paint.  I’ve done dogs, cattle, giraffes (from Photo not a pet) landscape (a camp site where a couple stopped for the night) a street scene of Clunes Vic. from a 1860 Photo and I can do the same for you.                                                      

 

                                          

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