ARTIST STATEMENT

James Knowles is an oil painter whose primary focus is the creation of large-scale works on canvas. Through decades of practice, he has come to understand the rare and deeply personal nature of making paintings that leave a lasting impression — works that resonate, linger, and are genuinely lived with. That connection between painting and viewer remains central to his practice.

Fascinated by the world around him from an early age, Knowles attended art college in South East England in the late 1970s, having excelled in art throughout his school years. While instinctively aware of his creative direction, it was experience — gathered slowly and widely — that shaped his mature voice. Since those early beginnings, he has travelled extensively, living, painting, exhibiting, and selling work in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Spain, and the UK. These shifts in place and perspective are clearly reflected in the evolution of his subject matter.

His early paintings draw heavily on formative childhood memories of growing up in Kent — the “Garden of England” — with large floral works and a sense of nature seen through the eyes of a child. Over time, that innocence has given way to work of greater complexity and depth. While circumstances have changed, sometimes dramatically, his commitment to painting has remained constant.

Today, Knowles paints with confidence and fluency, deeply familiar with his materials and process. This freedom allows the work to unfold intuitively — responding to moments, sensations, and observations that might otherwise go unnoticed. His subjects are deliberately unpredictable, driven by instinct rather than formula. He believes the consistency and quality of his current work will stand the test of time.