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."Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary.... Often repeated as a truism in painting -- but in the work of Jim Stevenson this simple maxim takes on richness, subtlety and power. |
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Artist's Statement: My mission as a painter has several aspects: The pursuit of excellence in drawing and painting, with an emphasis on classical methods and realist imagery; the Exploration, through painting, of the rich rural and agricultural character of the Hudson Valley and New York State; and the Teaching of classical methods of drawing and painting. Drawing is a fundamental component of classical painting practice. As a young adult I saw a traveling exhibit of drawings from Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks, and the rapture I experienced there kindled in me a lifelong, passionate love of "old master" drawing. I was fortunate to have truly excellent drawing teachers in college, and I have always pursued drawing both as an end in itself and as a means of developing the imagery for my painting. Finding my direction as a painter was more difficult; I took painting classes in art school but there was little useful instruction, and I felt handicapped by my lack of knowledge. While living in New York City I attended some excellent classes at the New York Academy of Art, and I studied with a wonderful figurative painter named Greg Decker, who set me on the path toward solid classical painting methods. The rich rural and agricultural character of the Hudson Valley and Upstate New York is the subject of much of my work. Of special concern to me is the traditional, and I believe growing, importance of agriculture in our state. As supplies of fresh water dwindle in other areas of the country, our abundance of fresh water makes our agricultural assets more valuable and vital than at any time in recent history. I have personally witnessed several tracts of fallow agricultural land recently brought back into production (with cattle operations), and I believe this is a trend that can only continue as food production becomes an increasingly critical issue in our world. It is my experience that people often remain unaware of the beauty and meaning of their surroundings. I feel that a significant part of my mission as a painter is to promote a deeper awareness of our environment and our role therein, and more specifically of the significance of our everyday surroundings. Therefore I work with simple compositions of fields, cattle, crows and the like, seeking to evoke the sense of wonder, mystery, and significance that elude people speeding past in the course of their everyday lives. An increasingly important part of my mission is the teaching of classical drawing and painting methods. I feel strongly that teaching is a part of the tradition in which I participate, and that the focus that comes with teaching, as well as my connection with students, revitalizes my own work. Additionally my interest in teaching stems from a desire to redress the limitations of my own training as a painter, by providing the kind of detailed instruction that was not available to me as a student in art school. |
Exhibitions
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Education
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