Biography
James knew at age 10 that he wanted to be an artist. Circumstances spoiled his chances of being a full time artist in his early life. His parents strongly objected. James created paintings throughout his adult life on a part time basis. James’ paintings hang in Oregon, California, Wyoming, Arizona, Michigan, the Philippines, and Belgium. James worked in several creative fields throughout his life. He did woodcarving, built small wooden boats in traditional methods and constructed and remodeled custom homes. When James retired he began taking more art classes and workshops and began painting full time. His current work is mostly abstract and accomplished in acrylics, watercolor and or multimedia. James also paints acrylic monotypes a technique learned from the well-known artist and printmaker Donna Orme . James has also studied with Tom Sparacino, Dale Laitenen , Sylvia White, and Mike Kelly. James is a member of Santa Clara Art Assn. (SCAA), Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society (SCVWS), and associate member of the National Watercolor Society.
Artist Statement
I am excited by and dedicated to the process of designing and painting images that will elicit interest and emotional response in the viewer. I work mostly with the following design elements 1.shape, 2.color, 3.value contrast, 4.texture, and 5.line. Currently I’m working mostly with acrylics and watercolor and sometimes various types of ink. I prefer to paint abstractly. Sometimes my paintings are objective abstracts and sometimes non-objective abstracts. I also produce acrylic monotypes. I am looking forward to producing many more paintings in these mediums.