James’ sister remembers him as a child, always laying on the floor, sketching. James’ reaction to the world has always been to sketch it. As James grew older, he developed challenges that he needed support to overcome and so he moved to a residence of the Community Living Society. This move brought James to the PotteryWorks program, sponsored by this Society, where his natural talent exploded.

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James has been part of this multi-media studio for the past twenty years, where he has developed his skills as a painter, potter and photographer. James’ biggest passion is the landscape painting, his heroes include The Group of Seven, Emily Carr and Van Gogh.

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James spent hours exploring the city of New Westminster and discovering interesting subjects to photograph as references for a series of paintings featured in the Anvil Centre Show, “Three Visions : Walking in New West”. A series that speaks to the role of community in our lives, especially for those who have been outside of it, looking in.

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James’ latest works are for “Searching for Surrey“, a show of paintings and photo giclee’s that set out to record the incredible diversity of the City of Surrey.