John was easily one of the most humble and unassuming artists I have met. He was gifted and was a favourite of his guru K B Kulkarni. John was from Belgaum and was nurtured by the well known artist and art teacher from Belgaum - K B Kulkarni.

His command on figures was exceptional. He was equally at ease with all mediums - watercolours, oils, acrylic, pastels. He mostly painted young ladies and I can visualise several of his paintings years after having seen them. While John had great skill and he could recreate the exact skin tones, he did not make the mistake of getting trapped in the technique. His art was more about portraying the beauty and the sensuality of the subject he painted. While he was an acknowledged master of figurative art, he did paint several wonderful landscapes.

I invited John for an exhibition which I sponsored. He also did a demonstration of painting which was attended by several hundred artists, art students and enthusiasts. Several art collectors have acquired John's paintings and have them as part of their art collection.

John was a simple uncomplicated person and a very generous soul. Many took advantage of the fact that he was not a demanding person and was content with what life gave him. He chose to remain low profile despite being so hugely talented. Fortunately John had Agnes as his wife who very ably looked after his interests.

John never speak negative about other artists or anybody else for that matter. The only thing that mattered to him was his art. All those who were fortunate to see him paint would get mesmerized by the easy manner with which he would paint, the deftness of his strokes and the magical realisation for the viewer to witness the painting getting created so effortlessly. His brush strokes appeared so simple yet the end result of unbelievable just the way we have seen the strokes of tennis legend Roger Federer.

It was unfortunate that John was not blessed with long life and his genius was cut short. I was in Kolkata when I received a call from Agnes who informed that John was critical. By the time I reached Hinduja hospital in Mumbai, John was no more. This was in the year 2007. I saw him one last time. Everyday I see the painting he did of the young girl at Pune in front of a massive crowd.

See a brief write-up on John Fernandes at Indiaart Gallery's website.