  James Williams Chapel Hill, NC 919-928-9936 jimwillart@mindspring.com  Almost thirty years ago, someone gave me a set of pastels and I experimented briefly with them. At the time, I was more interested in pure drawing, so I continued with graphite and charcoal. My drawings back then were realistic in the normal sense. Gradually I discovered that I could also use inanimate objects and animals, even the "impersonal" forces of nature, to depict human emotions. As my scope increased, I began to use color, in the form of inks and of colored pencil. More and more I created animal forms to represent human beings in various situations, progressively realizing the power of human facial expressions to convey an endless variety of feelings and psychological states. I actually began to perceive the presence of people in forms that were reminiscent of animals, birds or insects. I returned to working in pastels about seven years ago because of their dense, brilliant colors, which I felt most clearly elicited the strength of the experiences I had determined to capture on paper. When I start a painting, I generally begin with the impression of a person, emotion or event, whether internal or external, remembered or actually present. In the process of evoking the nascent image and putting it down on paper, a metamorphosis from photographic reality to shapes dictated by my intuition occurs. The choice of color follows, borne on the same transformative currents, fueled by the weight of the emotions invoked, the intensity of perception. Drama unfolds in the high voltage generated by near-complementary colors juxtaposed, as well as by lights and darks. In every image, everything is held in the tension of being and striving to be.  
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 |
 Williams always has been interested in the artistic delineation of human behavior. He has studied drawing, painting and computer graphics in formal as well as informal settings. In particular he studied portraiture with Tony Ryder, and pastel technique and portraiture with Herbert Slapo, of the Pastel Society of America, here in North Carolina, and with Dorcas Moulton in Oakland, CA. He is the President of the Pastel Society of North Carolina; member of the Durham Art Guild, of the Colored Pencil Society of America, Raleigh/Durham Chapter and of the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem. He shows a sample of his work on his website, www.artof jameswilliams.com. His work is represented in private collections in various parts of the United States, Mexico and France.  Upcoming: DUO SHOW "Commentary on Everyday Life" Black Rock Art Center, Germantown, MD Oct. 17-Nov.13, 2007 SOLO SHOW "Signs of Life" Academy of Trial Lawyers Building, under the auspices of Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, NC Nov.-Dec., 2006 Juried Shows: "Dimensions 2006 National Juried Exhibition" Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, NC May 5-June 2, 2006 (Juror, B. Anderson, Director/curator, Contemporary Center of the American Folk Art Museum, NYC) Honorable Mention,"The 80's" Visual Art Exchange August 5-27, 2005 (Juror, Bill Thelen, Dir. Lump Gallery) Girardot National Juried Exhibition, Arts Council of SE Missouri, Cape Girardeau, MO; July 1-30, 2005, (Juror, J. Denholm, Gallery Owner) SOLO SHOW "Facing Up" Visual Art Studio, Richmond, VA, May 6-27, 2005 (Juror: A. Hart, Visual Arts Studio Exec. Dir.) Fine Arts League of Cary 11th Annual Juried Exhibit, Mar. 28-Apr. 27, 2005 (Jurors: M. J. Bell, gallery owner, T. Edgerton, artist, ASPA, PSA, & L. Harry, Asst Curator, NC Museum of Art FIRST PLACE AWARD, 50th Annual Juried Show, Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC; Nov 12-Dec 16 2004 (Juror, Carrie Przybilla, Adjunct Curator, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA) "30th Bradley International" Bradley Univ., Contemporary Art Center, and Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, IL, Dec 2004, March-April 2005, (Juror, Judy Collischan, art consultant, critic, & writer) "The State of the Art 2004" Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, NC, Oct. 21-Nov. 27, 2004 (Juror, Lawrence J. Wheeler, Director, North Carolina Museum of Art) Honorable Mention "Color Works!" Associated Artists of Winston Salem, NC, Sept. 16-Oct. 18, 2004 (Juror, Elsie D. Popkin, artist) "Will Creek Survey 2004," Allegany Arts Council, Saville Gallery, Cumberland, MD, Sept 4-Oct. 8, 2004 (Juror, Elizabeth Thomas, Asst. Curator of Contemporary Art, Carnegie Museum of Art) "Eye: Mirror of the Soul," Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA, Aug. 29-Oct. 30, 2004 46th Chautauqua National Exhibition of American Art, Chautauqua Center for the Visual Arts, Chautauqua, NY, June 15-July 9, 2003 (Juror: Michael Gitlitz, Sales Director, Marlborough Gallery, NY) "Art on Paper 2003," Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis MD, Apr. 11-May 17, 2003 ( Juror: Linda Simmons, Corcoran Gallery) Fayetteville Museum of Art, 31st Annual Competition, Mar. 9-Apr.27, 2003 (Juror: J. Meighan, Dept. Hist. of Art, Syracuse Univ.) Juried Solo Shows: Chapel Hill Public Library, Mar. 23-May 19, 2003 (Jurors: Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission) Durham Art Guild Feb. 19-Mar. 28, 2004 (Juror: Durham Art Guild artists panel) Gallery & Other Group Shows: "Polarities" Group Show, Grace Li Wang Gallery, Raleigh, Jan - Feb, 2003 Eight Legs Gallery Opening Show, Charlotte, NC, Feb - Mar, 2003 "True Tails..." Nicole¹s Gallery, Raleigh, NC , May, 2003, (Juror, Nicole Kennedy Smith, Artist & Gallery Owner) "3rd Schwa Show," Emerge Gallery, Greenville, NC, May -June, 2004 (Jurrors, L Morton & D. Damato, Directors, Durham Art Guild) "PAWS, Pets thru Artists¹ Eyes," Carrboro Branch Library, Jun - Oct, 2004 (Curated by Louise Francke, artist. Supported by a grant from the Orange County Arts Council.) "Feast for the Eyes," (with the Pastel Society of NC) Chapel Hill Public Lib., (Jurors: Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission) June 6-July 27, 2004 Earlier Juried Shows: 3rd Inaugural Exhibition, Millennium Art Center, Washington, D.C., Jan. - Mar., 2001 (Jurors: A. Pollan, F. Tanguay , & W. Wooby) 47th Annual Juried Art Show, Durham Art Guild, Durham, N. C., Nov. 2001 - Jan. 2002 (Juror: Willie Cole, artist) Non-Juried Shows: Solo Shows: Sertoma Arts Center, Raleigh, NC June 1-28, 2002 Mangum Museum, Durham, NC Aug 17-Oct 13, 2002 Orange County Historical Museum, Hillsborough, NC, July, 2003 Shows with the Pastel Society of North Carolina: Art Connection, Chapel Hill, July, 2000 Carrboro Public Library, McDougle School, July-Oct., 2000 Carrboro Town Hall, Nov.-Dec., 2000 Hillsborough Public Library, Feb., 2001 Orange County Historical Museum, April, 2001 "Splendor Under Glass", Sertoma Arts Center, Raleigh, Sept, 2001 KDH Studio Galleries, Kill Devil Hills, NC, March-April, 2002 Holiday Exhibition, Carrboro ArtsCenter, Dec., 2002 Cape Fear Studios, Fayeteville, NC, May 15-24, 2003 (upcoming) "Different Strokes," Carrboro ArtsCenter, NC Dec., 2004 - Jan., 2005. Shows with the Colored Pencil Society of America, Raleigh-Durham Chapter: Sertoma Arts Center, Raleigh, March, 2001 Century Center, Carrboro, July, 2001 Franklin County Arts Council Museum, Louisburg, NC Feb., 2002 Mangum Museum, Durham, NC, May-June, 2003 Other Group Shows: 8th Annual International Miniature Art Show, Nags Head, June, 2000 Chapel Hill Museum, Oct., 2000 and Oct., 2001 Chapel Hill News Offices Art Gallery, Nov., 2000-June, 2002 Carrboro Town Hall (show with Brigitte Gueyraud) May-June, 2001 Durham Art Guild Members Exhibit, July, 2001, July, 2002, July, 2003 MAC21 Feria de Arte, 2002, Marbella, Spain "Silver Arts" Exhibition, Carrboro Branch Library, July-Nov., 2002 Associated Artists of Winston-Salem Associates Show, July, 2002 For more of James Williams' Art see: www.manhattanarts.com/Gallery/JamesWilliams.htm www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/e/eyejimwill Click here for the Pastel Society of North Carolina's website To see the Art of María Claro at www.artmariaclaro.com WEBSITE DESIGN BY |
