James L. Stevenson

About the Artist

A native of Texas, Jim lived in New York City for 10 years and now lives in Rhinebeck, NY, where he draws inspiration from the scenery and people of the beautiful Hudson Valley.


Artist's Statement

I am a realist painter, working in landscape, portraiture, and still-life. My work fuses traditional methods with contemporary perception. Constantly delighted by the forms of nature and the human figure, my work is a crystallization of these experiences.

I have always been enthralled by the experience of standing in the middle of an open field and feeling space and life roll out around me. My landscape paintings explore the simple beauty of fields, tree lines and the undulation of the land. The vibration of life in the grasses and trees, and the slower vibration of dormant life in a winter field, are elements I also seek to evoke in my work. I endeavor both to communicate the feeling and life of a place and to develop a complex and stimulating abstract color space.

When painting still-lifes, I seek to discover the "inner life of objects", their breath and vibration in space. Within the simplest of elements there is magic, and infinite opportunities for the exploration of shape, color and light.

Portrait painting for me is a way of connecting both with the sitter and with a venerable tradition. The challenge of capturing both a likeness and a personality is truly energizing, and there's a brush with magic as the image comes to life under my hands.


Exhibitions
  • 2010
         Rage, Kingston, NY
  • 2009
         Montgomery Row, Rhinebeck, NY
         Art Studio Views
         "Art at Grasmere" Group Show, Rhinebeck, NY
  • 2008
         Art Studio Views
         G.A.S. Gallery Group Show, Poughkeepsie, NY
         Panoply, Rhinebeck, NY
  • 2007
         Hudson Art Walk, Hudson, NY
         Tivoli Artists Co-Op, Tivoli, NY
  • 1998
         DANO, New York City
  • 1995
         Local Color Gallery, College Station, TX
  • 1992-93
         Aspiring Eye Gallery, Huntsville, TX


Education
  • Greg Decker, Master Figurative Artist
         Studio assistant, individual instruction
  • New York Academy of Art, New York, NY
         Classes in classical drawing and figure painting practices
  • Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
         BFA 1993, with Honors
         Harry Ahysen/Art Endowment Scholarship
  • Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
         Studies in Architecture, English and Engineering
Two Critters II
Main
© James L. Stevenson 2009