John van der Sterren is a New Zealander of Dutch descent, born in Indonesia. He has been living in Indonesia since 1983, becoming a professional painter in 1993. His studio is in Borobudur in Central Java.

John's paintings cover a wide range of landscapes, famous heritage buildings and portraits. John has travelled and painted extensively in South East Asia and Europe. He immerses himself in the culture of the places he visits, and does his best to capture the essence of his own impressions of them; the result of these new and varied experiences have inspired great exhibitions and contributed to John's present international success.