James Downie

James Downie in my opinion clearly takes his inspiration from the Lowry / Yates School of Northern England Artists. Whilst naive at first glance, you quickly realise that there is considerable skill in his use of perspective, light and impasto to produce paintings that have an immediate appeal.In every painting there are a multitude of little vignettes to enjoy and excite the eye.

His own biography is a modest one given the proficiency of his works :- James  Downie, 1949  ”I was born in Manchester and went to school in South Manchester, I was always interested in art and spent many hours in the town galleries studying the old masters,It was my best subject at school and just love painting, I keep trying to perfect the art as best i can. I left the building industry in 1989 to paint full time, I  painted for the tourist industry for 22 years but now just paint what i like to paint.” I think the final sentence is certainly the most profound “ but now just paint what I like to paint”. This enthusiasm is certainly evident in his work.