About James Darum Western Art
About The Art
James Darum boldly transforms the Western dream figures of our collective subconscious into larger-than-life cowboys, trail bosses and lawmen. Bright, vivid and crackling with energy, his Western characters absolutely command the field of attention on which they appear.
Presented in minimalist settings, often before empty monochrome backdrops, these impudent icons jolt us in the way superheroes do. We recognize them immediately without reference to time, place or geography. Framed by our own imaginations, they draw breath through the alchemy of personal projection and the painter’s powerful imagery..
About The Artist
Ideas from an un starving artist
I like to be different and recognizable. I found my voice to be different as a child being dyslexic. No one knew what that was back then so I found drawing was very easy. Letters and numbers were hard. I had to teach myself to read drawing was always there drawing all the time led me to a different approach with lines shapes, composition, design, and colors. I like to get the balance between the large and small, the bold and the detail what I put in and leave out what I leave out is very important also in all the parts of life, becoming an artist runs in my family being born with talent inside your head and dyslexic made me not quite normal, but who is? I found the people who like My Work can identify with the colors and the laughter and life.
The family and I moved to Phoenix in 1956. I was born in Evansville Indiana. I have some great memories of my Tom Sawyer days on my bicycle and the freedom. I had only one rule the home by Sunday for dinner. Living in the west, I fell under the spill of the mountains and the vast freedom of the landscapes. I always identify with the cowboy not being one I have watched almost every cowboy movie ever made in the early days of TV the 50s the movies were from the 1930s with Cowboys like Tim McCoy, Buck Jones, Wallace Berry, one of my favorites Joni Mac, Gabby Hayes I could go on and on they all had 10 gallon hats and we're bigger than the west always saving the underdog that's why I can't fit my Cowboys into this canvas, their arms, their hats and bodies go over the edge so instead of 10 gallon hats, I give them 20 gallon Hats. They have big bandannas. Everything is bigger than life. Early TV was black and white so they deserve a lot of bold color with bold features and fine detail details.
I will continue to paint from my heart and love of the southwest landscape and it's wide open and wild vistas.
Before becoming a full-time artist, I took every possible art class at Northern Arizona University had to offer from art history to poetry commercial art is what interested me the most after college a short, five year career in commercial art and a solid paycheck I decided for the uncertainty of a fine art future never looking back. It's been fun ever since I have sold to clients all over the world, Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, even China, US. One highlights is being the feature artist for Warren Buffett's Brookshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting May 2, 2009 with a print of my sheriff on the front of the convention sitter measuring 35 feet wide and 50 feet tall.
Thanks for reading about me.
My work is represented at Anticis Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona