John MarshPainting is a hobby I really enjoy and become completely engrossed in once the brush is in my hand! My favourite subject is landscapes, and I can see my life – which has been ‘touched by polio’ for over 60 years – as itself a kind of landscape.

The world of nature is amazingly varied: volcanic eruptions, bush fires, storms, peaceful lakes, desert oases, wildflowers, the profusion of bird and animal life.

And, above all, there is the pattern of flux – constant change, persistent adaptation to whatever conditions prevail. For me that has meant not getting fixated on being ‘a polio survivor’, but rather accepting what is, and trying to adapt in the most lively, creative way possible; it means making the most of every twist and turn of life and becoming absorbed in simply LIVING – with all its joys and sorrows, highs and lows.

Perhaps looking at these zany ‘canvases’ you may be able to see what I’m getting at, linking these legs and torsos to the landscape. A bit unusual? Well, so is life ‘touched by polio’ – but it’s worth working at!

Click to view more of John’s art work.


Please click on a picture below to see more photographs and a video of each of John’s “Touched by Polio” art works


Steep Ascent
Not sold yet

Walking Tall
Not sold yet