[2] Boyle began to paint in 1960 and was confirmed in his decision to become a painter by seeing a show circulated by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam of Vincent van Gogh at the Detroit Institute of Arts, in 1962.
[7] A 1978 article in the Montreal Gazette described Boyle as "one of that influential handful of Southwestern Ontario artists which includes Greg Curnoe and Jack Chambers... whose work is characterized by their profound attachment to their local – and by extension – Canadian environment.
[2] In 1972, he designed sets for the play Buffalo Jump by Carol Bolt at Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto; that same year he curated the first Billboard Show in St.
[2] In 1980, Boyle completed the enamelled steel mural Our Nell for the Queen station of the Toronto subway, depicting Nellie McClung, William Lyon Mackenzie, as well as the former Simpson's and Eaton's department stores.
[2] His papers are in The Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, John Boyle Fonds CA OTAG SC093.