Gallery of artist's work
James is a professional artist and photographer practicing for over twenty years with solo exhibitions in Australia and France. There is no limit to the breadth of James’ work. His subjects range from portraiture and interiors to landscape and the built environment. His surfaces include paper, canvas and even old books, using mostly oils as well as watercolours and ink.
His art is humorous and eccentric, sometimes dark and unsettling. There is a feeling of unease that threads through much of his work. His figures stare directly out at the viewer, meeting their gaze and inviting them into their world. His subject matter is mostly drawn from lost or discarded photographs from the mid-twentieth century, which, for him, have an unfiltered truthfulness hard to find in today’s media. King seeks to revive these forgotten stories.
Born in Sydney, he now lives and works in Hobart, Tasmania. He studied a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and Archaeology at the University of Sydney and more recently completed a Master of Creative Arts at Wollongong University. It was in 2003 that King realised art was his true calling when he won the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize. In 2011 he won the Goulburn Regional Art Prize. He has also been a finalist in the Premier's Plein Air Prize (2011), and a two time finalist in the John Copes Portrait Prize BDAS (2014, 2012), where he was awarded People’s Choice in 2012. James has been represented by Becker Minty in Sydney and Hobart since 2007.
Art Class Description
Gain confidence painting portraits in oils using photographic reference then progress to working with a live model. Explore in paint how to bring to life the character in your subject in a way a photograph cannot. Through a disciplined approach, learn strong compositional skills, proportion, colour palette, colour mixing, mark making, drawing and underpainting. You’ll learn cover techniques such as wet-on-wet, dramatic lighting, minimal palette, keeping the paint loose and allowing accidents to happen!
One of the greatest rewards in teaching art is seeing how a group of students grow in their ability in such a short time. Art making can be a very lonely pursuit but when placed in the same room as a bunch of other artists a communal energy takes over and creativity blossoms in a fun and non competitive environment.
By the end of the week you will be astounded at the progress you’ve made.
All levels of experience are welcome.
Materials To Bring
Your hosts will assist you to obtain any special art material needs you require from local suppliers.
For the list of materials the students should bring Contact Us.