Psychedelic Art by John Hurford at Barnstaple Library

Psychedelic art by John Hurford
On display during opening times from Saturday 1st April

John Hurford was born on a North Devon farm in 1948 and began painting soon after he left school in 1964. With no formal training, he quickly became one of the forces behind the British psychedelic art movement, and was the only psychedelic artist of his generation to contribute to all three of the most influential underground publications of the 1960s - OZ Magazine, International Times and Gandalf's Garden.

His work was crowded with flowers, birds and insects - highly detailed observations from the natural world he saw around him in the Devon countryside. It was often coupled with finely drawn fantasy landscapes, people and mythical beings. His early work is in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

In the 1970s, John began to get involved in book illustration and over the years has produced work for over 80 book titles including several of his own. He is now still producing album covers for the music industry and exhibits his fine art in various galleries.