Paul James

PAUL JAMES | BIOGRAPHY

Paul James

Artist Paul James grew up in rural Leicestershire, England. The haunting beauty of the nearby Charnwood Forest greatly influenced the atmospheric landscape and animal paintings for which Paul is renowned today.

From an early age, Paul’s ability for both art and music was apparent. Initially he earned his living as a pianist. He started painting professionally in 1986. Essentially self-taught, he has developed his own artistic style, which he continues to hone and perfect.

During the 1990s, Paul lived on board his narrow boat “Fools Paradise?” traveling the inland waterways of Britain. From his small floating studio Paul produced some surprisingly large canvasses. As his reputation as a fine artist has grown, Paul now splits his time between the UK, where he still has his boat; a small farm cottage in Ireland, and the USA, where his art has become increasingly popular.

Surrounded by the wildlife, flora and fauna that inspire his work, he paints depictions of rural life with incredible detail. Working primarily with acrylics and oils on canvas or board, he has become renowned in particular for his atmospheric landscapes. More recently he as had the time to experiment with a more contemporary approach to his paintings placing greater emphasis on large-scale portraiture. His humorous approach to his subject matter combined with the perspective and size to make his images all the more arresting.

Paul’s work has achieved major accolades. These include finalist in the “Not the Turner Prize” 2003 and 2004, held at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London; “The Addenda Award”, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 2004, and was “People’s Favorite” at the Autumn Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy at Bristol in 2004. In 2006 he was awarded Signature Membership of “The Society of Animal Artists” based in New York.