James Windram, Contemporary American Artist. Paintings, Drawings, Pastels, Workshops

"As a Chester County resident, James Windram doesn't accept the natural world at face value. Indeed, the Brandywine Tradition is at heart and root Transcendental in the American sense of Emerson Thoreau - and Windram's watercolor landscapes fit the bill very nicely."

R. B. Strauss, Art Matters, September 2001, pg. 32 "More Changes than the Seasons", review of works at the Blue Streak Gallery, Wilmington, DE.

I am a Classical painter, and in this context, a tangible subject is important. But the most important aspect is content, which is achieved by careful attention to the visual elements - line, shape, value, texture and color.The final order of their arrangement creates the harmonies and tensions necessary to solicit an emotional response from the viewer.

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I have always been fond of the night--a time for contemplation and dreams. The placement of a flower form in a nocturnal atmosphere is a catalyst for a mysterious encounter. My intent is of the nature expressed in the words of the artist Albert Pinkham Ryder, "I am trying to find something out there beyond the place on which I have a footing."

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This painting is a tribute piece to Luigi Rist. Although I never met Luigi, I became acquainted with his work (many years ago) at an auction held in Lancaster County, PA, and through a collector in the region who owned several of his prints (and a set of wood blocks) which I now own. I was very much taken with his botanical work. I was told, by the collector, that Luigi struggled to sell his work while he was living, and then, as is the case many times, after his death his work became much collected. For these reasons I wanted to dedicate one of my own botanical works to him.
If you would like to learn more about Luigi Rist, click here to view luigirist.com, a site dedicated to his work.

The "Night Flower Series" demonstrates the culmination of a technique I developed over the last ten years. The luminosity of the colors in these works is stronger than in traditional watercolors. This is achieved by coating the paper with an extra glue sizing, which prevents the pigment from being readily absorbed into the paper. The extra sizing also allows for more manipulation of texture than traditional watercolor allows.

All images are copyright 2001 - 2008 by James Windram and may not be borrowed, reprinted, or reproduced in any manner. All rights reserved.

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