Artistic adventures in pioneering shirts

John Dyer is a contemporary British artist known for his vibrant and expressive paintings that celebrate the beauty of nature and the human connection to it.

He’s an internationally recognised artist and has exhibited his paintings in galleries and museums worldwide. His work has been featured in numerous publications, and he has been the artist in residence at The Eden Project for the last 23 years.

Inspiring the next generation

Alongside his art, John runs an educational outreach program called Last Chance to Paint. This sees him travelling all over the world to visit endangered species and engage with tribal cultures. The aim of Last Chance to Paint is to raise positive awareness of environmental issues by engaging children in the arts to create deep personal connections to the natural world, tribal groups and culture, in school-aged children around the world.

John is a long-time friend of Rohan and has worn our clothes on many of his expeditions. His most recent adventure took him and fellow artist Joanne Short to Kenya where they collaborated with the Born Free organisation to look at the issues surrounding wildlife and to get an insight into the lives of the people living in this incredible landscape. John and Joanne chose to bring along clothing from our Pioneer range to help them on their adventures and keep them protected.

Here’s what they had to say about the clothes:

Kenya can be quite a harsh environment when you’re not used to it. The heat can be heavy, and the risks posed by potential insect bites are hard to ignore, so it’s important to wear clothing that keeps you cool while offering protection from the sun and biting insects.

The Rohan Pioneer range is absolutely perfect for this kind of expedition. We found the secure zipped pockets really handy while travelling through the airports - it’s nice to know your passport and documents are safe and protected.

Protection when you need it most

The durable and tough fabric used in your Pioneer clothing is invaluable when walking through the terrain. The foliage can get caught and cause rips and cuts, but our clothes kept us safe and unharmed, and the wicking ability of the fabric prevented us from feeling sweaty and uncomfortable.

The Insect Shield® protection built into the fabric really gave us peace of mind while we were there. Another important factor here is the colour of the clothing. Dark colours like blue and black can attract dangerous insects like the tsetse fly and mosquitos so the neutral and environmentally appropriate colours of the Pioneer range were perfect. The fact that the clothes also protected us from the unforgiving sunshine was a real help – especially given the amount of dust in the air over there! If we’d been covered in suncream the dust would’ve stuck to our skin and caused a lot of discomfort.

The ability to wash the clothes and have them dry overnight was incredible - we would’ve had to pack twice the amount of clothes otherwise!

“I like to refer to my Rohan clothes as my amour. They keep me safe.”

Just as John’s art inspires a deep connection to nature, his educational work with Last Chance to Paint serves as an exemplary blueprint for how we should respect and protect the environment around us.

To follow John on his adventures and support the work he is doing in schools, visit: lastchancetopaint.com

To see more of John and Joanne’s art, visit: johndyergallery.com