ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
During the pandemic lockdowns of 2021 James painted the South Downs landscapes which surround his home. They are in a way familiar to him, not as specific places , but as generic forms of landscape. His childhood was spent in the Chiltern Hills which share the same geological formations as the South Downs. As a young boy James spent many days exploring and painting the Chiltern landscapes near Ivinghoe, the village where he grew up.
Although James has a fascination for the more remote landscapes of the world, in particular mountain ranges, it is in the English countryside that he feels, he has to admit, most at home. The brooding skies, the chalk paths etched into the rolling tops of the hills and the patchwork of fields disappearing into the blue horizons are subjects that have been central to his perception of landscape.
This collection of work, based on the landscapes from Firle Beacon to the hills above Petworth House, has an obvious connection to the plein air studies of John Constable, which initially inspired James to start painting at the age of eight and which still have a strong influence on his work. For a few years Constable came to live in Brighton in the hope that the fresh air would improve his wife’s health. It has been warming and interesting for James to retrace some of Constable’s walks in the surrounding South Downs hills and search out views Constable painted.
James’s practice involves making plein air studies on site which he brings back to the studio where they form the basis for larger works. While his work is fundamentally narrative he spends much of his time working on the textures and quality of paintwork, in particular experimenting with different types of ground that enable him to moderate and contrast colours as well as control the quality of his mark making.
Constable's Way, South Downs, 2021
