James Dames

His work was greatly influenced by the decades spent as a filmmaker. It made him a professional viewer of light and its ability to react differently on each subject. This translated into his paintings where he found himself having to use layers upon layers to achieve the same feeling of motion. Much like filmmaking, his process of painting is one that was consistently evolving, but mostly he used water-based paints to create the vibrant patchworks of shapes, tones and textures. For him, both filmmaking and art were a generative process requiring the true essence of creativity to be present. His filmmaking career became the source of influence that continued to inspire artistic intuition and animate the canvas.

A blue painting, largely cloudy, with the skyline of Pittsburgh in the center, as seen from Mount Washington.
A painting of the view from Mount Washington by James Dames.