This is the first book on John Houston (b. 1930) - one of the most distinguished and prolific of contemporary Scottish painters. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, John Houston remained closely associated with the college through his role as a teacher: he lectured at Edinburgh from 1955 to 1989. Though dedicated to teaching, Houston remained committed to his own work throughout his time at Edinburgh and successfully forged a distinct artistic identity simultaneously. In a fascinating study of the artist's varied career, William Packer charts the development of Houston's life as a painter across five decades. Renowned for its intense use of colour, his work developed an underlying consistency from an early stage. Expressionistic, with romantic overtones and gestural brushstrokes, Houston is a master of encapsulating the atmospheric mood of any setting. This is borne out in the 70 colour images reproduced here for both loyal and new-found followers to admire.