Holmes moved to Edinburgh in his mid-twenties, working in research and teaching laboratories, with a number of his illustrations appearing in text books and scientific journals. His work often had a nautical theme.
Information collated from: Scottish Art, ‘Artist Biography’, http://www.scottishart.co.uk/bio.php?bio_id=14&artid=JH1&defval=Artist_Biography, accessed October 3 2003.