THE most iconic landmarks and celebrated scenery of the Furness peninsula have been immortalised once more in John Duffin's hugely popular annual calendar.

The Barrow-born artist's distinctive paintings of the region have seen him amass a loyal following for his work, who eagerly snap up the latest collection within weeks of it going on sale.

The 2017 edition features 12 full-size colour images of paintings of Barrow, Dalton and Ulverston, with Dalton Church, Hoad, Barrow AFC at Holker Street, Barrow Town Hall, Walney Lighthouse and Furness Abbey all included.

John says: "I take a great deal of care choosing the images for the calendar and this year have chosen paintings of a few "absent friends", specifically Abbey Baths and The Apollo Cinema, both of which are fondly remembered in the town.

"The calendar is always incredibly popular and is sent all over the world to ex-Barrovians as well as proving popular with people still living in the area. I have tried to make a high quality product that captures the essence of the area, its great buildings, historic monuments, wonderful sea views and dramatic skies."


Walney Lighthouse Storm John has been painting the town for more than 30 years, and while the majority of the 2017 calendar has been painted this year, there are a few earlier pieces included, such as The Bon-Bon sweet shop and the Apollo cinema from 15 years ago and a painting of Furness Abbey under snow from 10 years ago.

The images are chosen to capture the arc of the year, with locations that he associates with each month.

John continues: "I enjoy designing the calendar and choosing pieces for each month. I start with about 30 potential images and then whittle it down and start to build a series of pictures that work well together and reflect the different seasons.

"Also there are several images that are part of a larger painting, cropped to fit the calendar size. I like this process too, I find a new small painting somewhere in a larger one, examples of these crops are The Reservoir, AFC floodlights, The Hoad and Walney Channel looking towards Black Combe - all are from larger paintings but work very well cropped down into a rectangle size for the calendar."

The cover this year depicts some of the taller landmarks in the area - and in compiling the calendar, it sparked a plan for another project.

"I wanted to design a striking cover for the calendar and used the towers of the area to show some of the great landmarks that are within view," he says.
Barrow Skyline from the Reservoir

"I think it is only when an artist shows a group of towers like this that people realise what there is around them. I love these vertical structures and each one of them has history and memories for me and I am sure for many other people from Barrow, Dalton, Ulverston and nearby.

"If you are born in an area that has The Hoad as a landmark then you soon start to see similar shapes about you.

"Making the cover gave me an idea for a new series of tall vertical paintings of these local towers - a project for 2017."

The calendars are available from independent outlets, including the Evening Mail Offices, Fitzsimmons, The Gallery on Cavendish Street, Home Images on Duke Street, Heaths on Dalton Road, Lakes Parade Stores, all in Barrow, and Beddalls of Dalton, as well as several others.

The calendar regularly sells out each year, and it is typically only on sale for a limited period.

John will be in Barrow on Saturday December 3 to sign copies and talk about the project. He visits The Forum from 11am to 1pm, and Heaths from 2pm to 3pm.