John has worked for over 40 years in the Petroleum Industry. He has worked in Europe, Africa, Asia, North and Central America, Middle East, New Guinea and Australia. He has held positions from well site geologist to Chief Executive. In education he has run 3 month long training courses for the Iraq Petroleum Ministry, designed a post graduate petroleum industry curriculum for an Indian Academy and run numerous non-academic geotours and earth science workshops.
However, it wasn't till 1995 that John started to paint the projects he was involved in. The original concept was to have one big sheet of a geological cross section or map on calico so that all excursion, or project participants were looking at the same "page".
By 1999 the projects had got bigger and so had the paintings (up to 7 meters long by 2 meters wide).
By 2002 all standard geological symbols and colours had gone and the text figures were now abstract art. Each project would be researched for some weeks or months in an attempt to tell a story with as many elements as possible were included in the painting. The paintings have proved a huge success when communicating geological concepts and elements to non-geological team members, students and members of the general public.
The paintings have been used on site in Uganda, Mali, South Africa, Portugal, West Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. Audiences have included students, engineers, earth scientists, accountants, drilling crews, medical doctors, teachers, council members, politicians, farmers, tourists, lawyers, and maintenance workers. John's art has made television appearances on Channel-7's "Great South East", Channel-9's "Extra Program", the ABC's "7:30 Report" and the ABC's "Four Corners Program". John's artwork has also been displayed in the Courier Mail, the Australian, Washington State's "Beachcomber", "The PESA News" magazine, APPEA's "Advocate" and "Flowline" magazines and the cover of Heritage Oil Corporation's 2002 Annual Report.
Below is a shortened list of some of the uses of John's paintings.
Projects where John's paintings have been a success include:
o 2010 "Gas Hunting" was the branding behind APPEA's (The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association) 50th Anniversary and 2010 Conference and Exhibition. The painting depicts a horizontal gas well producing gas from a sandstone. This is the first time an artist's work has been chosen to "theme" an APPEA conference. The original painting hangs in the APPEA boardroom in Canberra.

o 2010 "Road Cutting at Charlwood" was the branding of the "6th Bowen Basin Coal Symposium" held in October 2010. This painting won the overall art prize for "The 2009 Queensland, Scenic Rim Spars Arts Awards" and was also chosen for showing in the world's first Geoart Exhibition in Seattle, Washington. The painting is now in a private collection in Vancouver, Canada.

o 2010 "Migrating in Time" is a series of 5 abstract paintings portraying the evolution of Eastern Australia encapsulating the connection between time, geological events and cross-cutting relationships. The paintings branded the University of New England's 2010 "New England Orogen" Proceedings and Conference and are now part of the University's Art Collection.

o 2010 "First Steps" depicts the birth of the Australian Petroleum Industry in Queensland. This painting was the cover for the June/July 2010 issue of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia's magazine. It continues to draw attention with limited edition prints gracing a number of corporate reception and board room walls. The original now belongs to a private collection in Queensland.

o 2010 "Risk" depicts the first commercial, Australian, oil discovery at Moonie in Queensland. This painting is now part of a private collection in Brisbane.

o 2009 "Floating Rivers" is currently hanging in FrogTech's (an oil to groundwater geological and geophysical consulting company) reception room in Canberra. This painting was requested to inspire the geophysical exploration of the "basement" rocks beneath the Murray-Darling Basin.

o 2008 "Broken River, Burning Streams" is currently hanging in a private exhibition in Queensland. The painting illustrates the changing drainage system of the Clarence River in northern New South Wales following the intrusion of Miocene volcanics. It won the Beatty Prize in the 2008 Scenic Rim Spar Arts Awards.

o 2006 "Fassifern Conception" was completed to assist in telling the geological stories of Jurassic lacustrine and fluvial sediments being intruded by Miocene hot magmas of varying compositions. This painting achieved a highly commended recommendation and was Jackson's first entry in an art competition.

o 2002 "Kisegi" was painted to illustrate fluviatile petroleum reservoirs to Ugandan government officials and ministers following a gas discovery.

o 2001 "The African Superplume" was painted to communicate new ideas on new mantle concepts. This was used extensively in seminars and excursions.

o 2001 "A Drilling Prognosis" helped communicate a drilling program in Uganda where four different languages and numerous disciplines were involved. The result was a break through in communication techniques.