James Fearnley - Art on Cairncross

Find out more about Artist... James Fearnley
Painting - Watercolours

Born: England, 1933
Resides: Sunshine Coast

Artist Information
"I love to paint, to express the peace, space and distance of a remote beach or a scene in the outback. I want viewers to feel the wet sand between their toes and the wind in their hair, to smell the sea when they look at my seascapes".

James Fearnley studied a variety of art related subjects at Leigh Technical College in England before coming to Australia in 1952. He continued his studies in commercial art, interior design and oil painting at East Sydney Technical College. Self-employed since the age of twenty, colour and design have always fascinated James. Interior design and decorating were his principal sources of income until 1977 when he began painting in watercolours. Because they are composed in a series of layered washes, as many as fifteen, his seascapes are noted for their brilliant luminosity. They glow from within. Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast and Fraser Island often feature in his paintings and his studio overlooks Nambour and coastal areas from Noosa to Caloundra. In 1989 James Fearnley was invited to exhibit with the British Watercolour Society and was the honoured with being the first international artist to be granted an associate membership. During a visit to the Cotswolds that year he saw a field of red poppies. The waving sea of red blooms beckoned. “I sat down in the middle of them and my poppy series was born.” James Fearnley’s paintings have received many awards and he has featured in numerous exhibitions throughout Australia. His paintings are in private collections in Japan, U.K., U.S.A. and in all Australian States.