John Simpson is originally from Scotland. He moved to England in the early 1980s, where he became established as a painter primarily of landscapes. He started visiting the west coast of Ireland in the mid-1990s and moved to West Cork in 2002.

John has been exhibiting since 1965. The venues at which he has exhibited in England include: Henley Festival of Music and the Arts, Wooburn Arts Festival, The Hexagon in Reading, Eton Fine Art Gallery, Synergy Gallery, Reading University Art Gallery, and Beaux Arts. He has also shown work at Albany Gallery in Cardiff, Galeria Picasso in Alicante, and the Edinburgh Festival. In Ireland, John currently exhibits with Cunnamore Galleries and The Private Collector Gallery.

John has also had work included in art fairs in Budapest, Stockholm, Dublin, and London.