Born in working-class Glasgow in the 1960s, John McDonald discovered his passion when he came face to face with Dali ’s Christ of St John of the Cross at Kelvingrove Museum. “I spent years of my childhood evading the museum guards. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this Dali painting, with its dynamic perspective and monumental scale, planted the seed of my love of art and awakened the soul of this deaf boy from Drumchapel. When I first picked up a charcoal pencil and began to draw, it was a version of Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross that I created.” 

 Having taken up painting late in life, he received international recognition for Butterfly Cry , the first painting in his "Mexican Heroine" series of portraits of Frida Kahlo. 

An activist artist 

 John draws his inspiration from the struggles for human rights and social justice. His painting, moving and sometimes provocative, is nourished by his past as a social worker, alongside the unemployed of Merseyside. In the trade union movement, the one who is not yet a painter, is trained in law, political science and history. This baggage of experiences and knowledge will be the substrate of his future creation often moving, always committed.

“Butterfly Cry” or how to transform pain into beauty

 In 2016, John McDonald painted the first part of his series of paintings "Mexican Heroine", a group of works dedicated to Frida Kahlo exploring the themes of love, suffering, passion for life. In Butterfly Cry the artist focused on celebrating the indomitable strength of the human spirit, transforming pain into beauty. The melancholy and grace of the painting gives this extinguished gaze a universal appeal and makes it the flagship portrait of the series.