James Fraser RSW

James was born in Glasgow in 1958 and after a career in the Civil Service gained a place as a mature student at Edinburgh College of Art in 1999. He was awarded the Heriot Watt University award for outstanding merit in his first year and received his BA (Hons) in painting from ECA in 2004.

Awards
2005  Peter Potter Gallery Trust Award.
2012 The Glasgow Arts Club Award
2013  The Leith School of Art Award
2015 City of Glasgow College Award

Since qualifying from college James has exhibited at various galleries and has had work accepted at the annual exhibitions of Visual Arts Scotland (VAS), Society of Scottish Artists (SSA), The Royal Society of Watercolourists (RSW)) held at The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) Princes St Edinburgh. He has also had work accepted for Paisley Art Institute (PAI) and the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts (RGI) annual exhibitions. In August 2006 he was elected a professional member of Visual Arts Scotland (VAS). He is also an Ordinary member of Society of Scottish Artists.

James was elected as an RSW in Oct 2014

“ We live in a world of chaos, most of which I cant do anything about. My work usually begins with chaos. I attack the surface with various materials which could include collage, paint, pencils, pastel, ink etc. I then have to re-organise this chaos, through adding and subtracting and eventually relying on my intuition, into something more pleasing to the eye. Maybe even something beautiful. It’s a way of reconciliation that I can at least make a thing of beauty from what was once chaotic. The end result may take the form of a harbour scene, beach scene or a still life. I tend to favour the still life. There’s something quite satisfying in the simple act of making a cup of tea and a snack for a friend or family or them for you. We all have tables and other surfaces containing nik naks. My work is a portrayal of these objects, sometimes recognisable sometimes suggestive. All hopefully arranged in an aesthetic manner”.

James’s work is now in many private collections in the UK and abroad.