Abstract art was born in the twentieth century and is essentially paintings that make no direct or immediately discernible reference to recognizable objects.Shapes and colors have always had their own emotional force and abstract expressionism, which emerged in the 1940s, applied the principles of Expressionism to abstract painting.Examples of this style of art are works where paint has been dripped, dropped, smeared, spattered, or even thrown on the canvas.
"Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know how to draw well, that you have aheightened sensitivity for composition and for colours, and that you be a true poet. This last is essential.
" Wassily Kandinsky (1856 – 1944)
James Lawrence: Artist Profile
James has been a professional artist for over 30 years, gaining his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking in 1971 and Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking in 1973 at the Otis Art Institute in California. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Biology) from Austin College, Texas (1966).
James has exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Japan. He was included in California Design 76 and selected for a printmakers exhibition at the California Museum of Science and Industry. His work has featured in Home Magazine, California Printmakers, Prints Magazine and Décor Magazine.James’ work can be found in the Corporate Collections of IBM, RCA, Federal Reserve Board of Philadelphia, Home Savings & Loan, and Wells Fargo Bank.
James was named “Most Successful Painting Artist” and awarded the Royal Agricultural Society Medal at the 2001 Royal Easter Show. Ahead of 300 other painters he won both the Asia Pacific and the Faber Castell Dry Art Open categories, as well as place third in the National Art Supplies Print Making Open. In recent years, James has been a Judge at the Royal Easter Show Fine Arts Exhibition.James teaches Printmaking, Painting and Drawing at WhitecliffCollege of Arts & Design and Mairangi Art Centre.
For James, the primary aim in producing any work of art is that of involving the viewer. James emphasis’s the importance of capturing the interest of his audience and arousing their curiosity, allowing questions to arise within the viewer.
“To achieve this end, I constantly experiment with the subject matter, media and form, because it continually challenges me to further my range of expression. “Like all artists I am concerned with light. I draw inspiration from nature and the New Zealand landscape as well as using my own personal pictorial language.”
”I enjoy energy, movement and color. My paintings are a rhythmic combination of feeling and thoughtcombined with formal considerations. I tend to paint intuitively, and I use expressive brushwork and layering which allows for chance discoveries. I often re-work areas creating a layered history of the process thus adding to the autobiographical nature of the painting.”
