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woRds : a picture paints a thousand 

In my work, paintings, printings, collages & crafts, I explore the visual language of imagery often depicting relationships; personal, social and societal moods and influences, how they impact upon us.  Inspiration for my work comes from all around me; conversations I overhear on busses to what's  in the news and the feelings the weather brings.  I begin  a piece - a story - by collecting ideas and objects, experimenting with medium, colour and composition and by thinking about what I have to say, what I want to create or reiterate  -  for example saturation of light adds depth of mood or I'll create harmony by balancing my palette of colours - the story is a combination of how the mediums and imagery I use are interpreted by the reader/viewer making each art work an individual experience.

Pattern is important to me and as a graduate of Heriot Watt University (Textile Design, 1999) I’m very interested in surface texture.  I enjoy working with oil and acrylics  as I can use them thickly for their  sculptural qualities or as thin as water for adding gentle hints of mood. I
 think of my collages and crafts as a collection of
pictorial landscapes capturing the textures and images of what I  see directly in front of me and others depicting a sense of what I have seen or felt.  In my paintings and printings I am able to portray sentiment more fluidly. The paint or ink simply represents the image in my memory - emotions, the way things move me are often the main concept.

 I know a piece is done when the hues, tones and mark making balance. It’s like finishing a book I get that satisfied feeling of reaching the conclusion. 

Painting is an extension of my thought process... when I start a painting if I’m not filled with a sense of nervousness I know it’s not going to work. When my work is going well, I feel a sense of achievement. When I'm thinking things over I enjoy crafting; repeating processes and techniques like mark making, stitching, printing. I enjoy a mythological way of working which inspires abstract & organic thinking - all art I make is unique within itself. My art is a thought process.
 
 
(C) emmJames
  © All images & words are copyright of the artist and may not be used without express written permission.   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     eclare James