James Griffin artist

James Griffin is a Professional artist, represented by galleries, museums and collections worldwide.

James Griffin has several goals when he begins a painting, the first being to dive into the form of consciousness known as the “Flow”. This trance-like state is a form of meditation and a source of joy. James has to enter into the work for it to come alive. His aim is to communicate that joy with the viewer, in whatever way is possible. That feeling of a shared experience with those looking at his work.

His inspiration comes from the sunlit world in Southern Florida, the Mountains of Northern Tennessee, as well as the crowded sidewalks of great cities and the salty character of Maine.

“To me, the subject matter is not as important as the feelings transmitted through the paint, the artist’s vision, the painters hand.”

Being passionate about painting has served James well over the years, both in his career as an illustrator and as a gallery artist. Working every day with color, form, composition and line has loaded his brush with a lot of experience. The things James like about creating an illustration carry over to things he likes in doing his gallery work, telling a story, communicating with the viewer, catching and holding their interest.

James Griffin grew up in South America and the UK, as well as the US and Canada, and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Fine Art degree from Pratt Institute. Being a realistic painter at a time when that was very much out of style, he found his way into doing paintings for paperback book covers, one of the last genres that appreciated realistic oil painting. As the number of his illustrations moved up towards several thousand, he continued with his personal work, experimenting with style and technique… Now retired from illustration, James devotes himself to painting.

During 2020, James experienced the total loss of sight in his right eye. It turned out to be a fast-developing opaque cataract. He is very grateful to report that the sight has been mostly restored. Being without sight in one eye affected his style, causing it to become bolder in color and how he applied the paint.

James Griffin has had many solo shows. The most recent were: The Road to Home, A Tapestry of Movement, both at Art Center Manatee in Bradenton, Florida, Moments of Color and Light was at Arts and Cultural Alliance in Sarasota Florida. Currently, James Griffin is publishing a book, titled The Road to Home, due out in May 2022.

Reviews from publications:

“At the easel, Griffin works with an exuberance bordering on madness. He stands and claims the canvas with great sweeps of his brush, throwing his body into the effort as the spirit moves him. A small stereo in the back pumps out Beethoven, Brahms and Afro-pop, as Griffin dances and paints and the distinction between the two becomes unclear. Working primarily with oils, he employs what he calls the “Messy Brush Technique,” which enables him to paint quickly and spontaneously, without time for uncertainty or second-guessing. By mixing colors with his brush as he paints instead of pausing to mix and switching brushes, Griffin cannot completely control how the colors will mix or even when a hidden red or blue from his bristles may come forth, but he can adapt and create. As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “One must still have chaos within oneself to give birth to a dancing star,” and from Griffin’s chaos energy is bestowed upon the canvas. “People have said that’s not the way you’re supposed to do it,” says Griffin. “Well, it works for me.” – Phil Lederer, SRQ Magazine, Creative Chaos, June 2015

“One of the consistent themes… is that all of Griffin’s paintings tell a story. For instance, Forces of Nature uses women to portray a part of the natural world in a realistic way. …. To portray the energy of Florida’s daytime, he painted a portrait of a woman reaching for a grapefruit…She is posed similarly to the Columbia Pictures iconic image. And even if the piece doesn’t contain an obvious story, his objective is to make the viewer feel what he was feeling when he painted it.” – Mallory Gnaegy, Diversions Magazine

“Griffin’s love of color and design are evident in his paintings, along with vigorous brushwork that reveals his excitement with paint in all its textural glory.”- On View Magazine

Website:

James Griffin Studio

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