After being confined to the Veterans Hospital
in Atlanta, Georgia for about a month, James Taylor began to paint with
watercolor as part of his therapy. Perhaps due to his confinement and illness,
he began to see and feel the humanity of the people around him-something he
hadn’t noticed before.
The softness of watercolor seemed natural for expressing love, spirituality and
honesty in the subjects that
he has been moved to paint. Since 1992, James has shared the excitement of his
newfound awareness through his art.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I began painting in 1992 while recovering from a debilitating illness. During my
convalescence, I began to see the humanity and spirit of the people I
encountered, along with colors, smells, and the play of sunlight on things and
scenes that were around me. Watercolor became a good medium for expression of
this newfound awareness and I became especially partial to figurative subjects.
I discovered a very strong character in people, which is revealed through their
challenges, disappointments, and the rewards of holding things together through
relative obscurity. It is this strength of spirit that I am compelled to express
in my paintings. My goal is to involve the viewer in the insightfulness and
humanity that art has to offer.
Selected Collections
and Exhibitions
The
Paul Jones Collection – Atlanta, Ga.*
The University of Delaware Collection*
The Darwin Brown Collection ~ Atlanta, Ga.*
The Collection of Judge Fredrick T. Work ~ Gary, In.
Richard Mayhew – Santa Cruz, Ca.
The Atty. Claire Moynihan Collection, Decatur, Ga.*
The Dekalb Arts Council, Decatur, Ga..
MBC Allied Arts, Inc – Milledgeville, Ga.
The Dr. Raymond and Lucy Allen Collection ~ Atlanta, Ga.*.
Rev. and Mrs Joseph E. Lowery - Atlanta, Ga.
Terry and Thelma Harris ( owners of The Thelma Harris Art Gallery) Oakland, Ca.*
Kevin Cole –Stone Mountain, Ga.*
The James W. Jackson and Gedney L. Vining Collection – Atlanta, Ga.*
The Dr.‘s Herbert and Darlene Charles Collection – Atlanta, Ga.
Dr. and Mrs. Tolly Kenon – Charlotte, N.C.*
HeadFirst Marketing, Inc.- Stone Mountain, Ga.
The Tuskeegee Airmen’s Museum in Gary, In.
The Tuskeegee Airmen’s Chapter of Atlanta, Ga.
Tara Wooldridge and Nicholas Sotolongo – East Point, Ga.*
Cheryl C. Flowers – Atlanta, Ga.*
Isaac and Lisa Washington – Atlanta, Ga.*
Lisa Thomas-Mableton, Ga.*
Michael D. Harris – Stone Mountain, Ga.*
Louis and Jea Delsarte – Atlanta, Ga.*
The Dr.’s Jeffrey and Sivan Hines Collection – Atlanta, Ga.
(*
indicates more than one painting by James Taylor in the collection.)
Selected
Exhibitions and Awards
The Robert Ferst Center (Georgia Tech) Atlanta, Georgia
The Ponce de Leon Branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library (one man show)
Atlanta, Georgia
The Ruth Hall Hodges Art Gallery (Morris Brown College) first place award
Atlanta, Georgia
African Americans for the Arts (Studioplex) second place award Atlanta, Georgia
African Americans for the Arts (Underground Atlanta) first place award, Atlanta,
Georgia
The Atlanta Artists Center (Grandview Gallery) first, third and honorable
mention awards, Atlanta, Georgia
The Atlanta Artists Center Regional Show (Grandview Gallery) honorable mention
award, Atlanta, Georgia
The Atlanta Artists Center Traveling Show - third place award, several cities in
the state of Georgia
The Peachtree Branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Library (two one man shows) Atlanta,
Georgia
The Hammonds House Galleries and Resource Center – Atlanta, Georgia
The Hambidge Center, awarded a one month Residency (April 1st-April 27th, 2003)
Rabun Gap, Georgia
The Hambidge Center / Rabun Gap Nagootchee School awarded a 3 week Teaching
Residency (September 7th – September 26th, 2004) Rabun Gap, Georgia
The Fulton County Public Arts Program, Atlanta, Georgia
The Sandy Springs Branch of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library (one man show)
Atlanta, Georgia
The Georgia Watercolor Society National Show (2003) fifth place award, Quinlan
Center for the Arts, Gainesville, Georgia
The Georgia Watercolor Society Members Show (2003) fourth place award, Bowen
Center for the Arts, Dawson, Georgia
The John Marlor Arts Center (one man show), Georgia Council for the Arts-Office
of the Governor, Milledgeville, Georgia
The Paul Jones Collection (housed at the University of Delaware)
The Hampton University Museum, two paintings juried into the Power 2005
Exhibition, February, 2005
Director, The Hambidge Center Arts and Science Camp, Summer - 2005
Organizations
The Georgia Watercolor Society (President 2003-2004)
The American Watercolor Society
The Atlanta Artists Center
The Portrait Society of Atlanta
African Americans for the Arts
Education
Studied under Carl Owens for 5 years
