Born in 1973, Gary James grew up in the Renfrewshire village of Bridge of Weir. As a child he learned to draw by copying cartoons and pictures of cars and motorcycles. Equally interested by art and science, he chose to study Engineering and graduated with an honours degree in 1994. His interest in art was still strong and he started painting in oils in his spare time. He also became a member of the Leith art club, where he participated in his first exhibition.
Art remained an occasional hobby while he worked in other fields such as engineering, academic research, property renovation and eco-building. He moved to France in 2003 before returning to Scotland 2014 with his young family. In 2017 he rented a studio in Glasgow and began painting again in earnest. Since then he studied with the Scottish School of Classical Art and the professional portrait painter Alex Tzavaras. In 2023/23 he spent a year studying various fields of art at the City of Glasgow College.
James employs traditional methods to make figurative work but feels no attachment to any particular subject matter or even painting style. He does, however, greatly enjoy plein air painting in France, where he feels very much at home. Through participating in local exhibitions and by his online presence, James regularly sells work to collectors in the UK and overseas.
Exibitions:
- 2019, Group Exhibition, “Progression”, Cass Art, Glasgow
- 2020, Lochwinnoch Arts Festival
- 2020, Paisley Art Institute Annual Exhibition
- 2020, Solo Exhibition, “Here and there”, Bridge Centre, Bridge of Weir
- 2023, Group Exhibition, Big Art Show, Paisley