User:Hallingtons/James gillick

James Gillick (b. 1972, Norfolk) is an artist working in the figurative tradition. He lives in Somersby, Lincolnshire and works from his studio in Louth, Lincolnshire. His paintings range from the smallest of still lifes, including game paintings to large scale commissions, such as portraits and horse portraits, as well as church re-ordering, gilding and specialist paint finishes. At a time when too much contemporary art is both adolescent and unexciting, it is a joy to find a true artist, committed heart, soul and hand to celebrate the beauty of the world. James Gillick sees this beauty in the ordinary: nothing here is picturesque or Romanticised. Sister Wendy Beckett

Life and work
Using techniques that include elements dating back to the 17th century, Gillick handcrafts all the materials he uses within his studio; from the oil paints, waxes and glues, to the varnishes, canvases and stretchers, ensuring his involvement in the whole process of creating a work of art. He deliberately uses a limited palette of six colours plus black & white, having prepared the oils from ground pigments. This gives the paints a thicker, stronger consistency, allowing him to employ a very wide range of brush strokes in a work from thin strongly coloured glazes to heavy impastos. An art historian cannot help but sense in his works the distinguished genealogy of William Nicholson, Morandi and Fantin-Latour, and hear echoes that reach back to Luis Melendez and beyond. Gabriele Finaldi of the Museo del Prado James comes from a long line of artists and artisans. He is the son of social critic Victoria Gillick and theatre set designer Gordon Gillick. James has an identical twin, the sculptor Theodore Gillick. James is cousin to 2002 Turner prize nominee Liam Gillick, and his great uncle and aunt were the sculptor Ernest Gillick & medallionist Mary Gillick.

After gaining a degree in Landscape Architecture from Cheltenham and Gloucester College in 1993 James then spent 2 years perfecting the techniques of oil painting. In 1998 he won a commission to paint the Rt. Hon Baroness Thatcher. The three quarter length portrait was commissioned by the University of Buckingham to commemorate her six years as the chancellor of Britain’s only private university. Baroness Thatcher was, ‘absolutely delighted’ with her portrait and commented, ‘Can I thank the artist for doing the impossible – a kind portrait of me in a way I would like to be remembered.’ 2005 saw the completion of a portrait of Pope John Paul II commissioned by The Bishop of Nottingham, England, Malcolm McMahon (O.P.). The portrait now hangs in the Lady Chapel at St Barnabas' Catherdral in Nottingham and an identical copy tours the country’s parishes on request. Further notable commissions include the Very Rev. M. Couve de Murville, Archbishop of Birmingham in 1999.

James and several family members undertake church restoration work. An example can be seen at the church of St Gregory and St Augustine in north Oxford, the parish church where JRR Tolkein was a parishioner. The work here includes a new reredos for which James has painted panels featuring the patron saints St Augustine, St Gregory and the Virgin and child, plus a further ten panels in a type of iconostasis.

Exhibitions
James has exhibited at Jonathan Cooper’s Park Walk Gallery, London since 2000 and his work has been included in several mixed exhibitions including; Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Mall Galleries and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters also at the Mall Galleries. He also regularly exhibits at art fairs including; Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fair, BADA British Antiques and Fine Art Fair and the London Art Fair.

James and his twin Theodore exhibit annually together at the CLA Game Fair and the Burghley Horse Trials.

Publicity
1999 Daily Telegraph 2004 Catholic Herald, Catholic Times, The Field (feature article), The Saint Austin Review (July/Aug and Sept/ Oct issues), Scottish Sporting Gazette, Sporting Shooter Magazine. 2005 Catholic News, Our Sunday Visitor (USA) (feature article), The Tablet, Scottish Shooting Gazette (feature article), Sporting Shooter (feature article), Shooting Gazette (feature article). 2006 Leisure Painter (feature article). 2007 Artists and Illustrators February (feature article), Artists and Illustrators March(feature article), Sporting Shooter April (feature article), Shooting Gazette Nov (feature article). 2008 Artists & Illustrators 2009 The Saint Austin Review Jan/Feb (feature article), Fieldsports Spring (feature article), The Catholic Herald April, Country Life May (Pick of the Week), Leisure Painter June, Artists & Illustrators July (feature article), The Field July, Lincolnshire Pride August (feature article), The Journal for Lincolnshire October (feature article)