James Fairgrieve RSA RSW: Sticks and Stones...Etc

James H. Fairgrieve was born in Prestonpans, East Lothian in 1944. He attended Edinburgh College of Art from 1962-67 and was awarded a travelling Scholarship to Italy. On his return he was offered a teaching post at ECA where he remained until taking early retirement as a Senior Lecturer in Drawing and Painting in 2003. In 1975 he was elected as an associate member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Between 1974 and 1978 he was President of the Society of Scottish Artists and in 2004 was elected a full member of the RSA.

In 1970 James Fairgrieve moved from East Lothian where he was born and grew up, to the village of Gordon in Berwickshire. Nestling between the Lammermuir Hills and the Cheviots, overlooking the lower Tweed, there was also easy access to the Berwickshire coast and its beaches.

Finding a run-down cottage in the heart of the village, which, with his wife Margaret, he spent the next 8 years transforming into a comfortable home and attic studio, whilst also producing a large body of work inspired by his new surroundings and inspired by his travels through the hills and landscapes whilst commuting to work at ECA.

The resulting work is a reaction to, and celebration of, this environment - the hills, fields, skies, dykes, fence posts, farm buildings, animals, birds (with the inevitable road kills), stones, shells, flotsam from the beaches, the changing seasons, weather conditions and light, led to a number of solo exhibitions: notably at The Scottish Gallery in 1974 and 1978, and the Mercury Gallery in London and Edinburgh in 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1987, and many more galleries in the UK and abroad.

As an artist, he has always been inspired by what he sees in the world around him, and through acute observation, attention to detail, and traditional painting skills, he attempts to create memorable images of stillness and calm. His distinctive still-lifes use objects collected over the years, often combined with fruit and vegetable from his garden, are crafted with acute observation and attention to detail, conveying a Zen-like sense of balance, poise and calm.

He has exhibited regularly in Edinburgh, London and internationally since 1969.

Publications include 'Eye in the Wind', E Gage; 'Scottish Watercolour Paintings', J Firth; 'A Picture of Flemings', B Smith; 'Who's Who in Art', Debretts; 'People of Today', Scottish Field; 'Dictionary of International Biography'; and 'The Artist Magazine-Masterclass'.