James McKeag

Painter

“As an artist, I am intrigued by the emotional effects of colour and how it makes one feel towards a painted scene. As a painter, colour plays an important role in my work, both aesthetically and how it has been applied to the canvas, to depict that expression.”

James McKeag has developed a unique contemporary style of landscape painting he calls Dripscapes. James has been a practising artist for the past twenty-five years and is a visual arts teacher at Father Leo J. Austin C.S.S. in Whitby for the last twenty years.

Influenced by the vibrancy of colour, used by artists such as Manly MacDonald, James has painted a series of local images in and around Port Perry. These rural scenes display the beauty and serenity of Durham region in a colourful impressionistic style.

As a painter, James has developed a contemporary style of landscape painting that he refers to as “Dripscapes.” His large canvases, show strong aspects of the American abstract painter, Jackson Pollock, displaying nature through a colourful reflection of its naturalness and beauty. Canvases are transformed into vibrant displays of natural environments that emit their beauty and mystery through a controlled process of dripping multiple colours of paint.

James is a graduate of York University, with degrees in Fine Art (B.FA), education (B.Ed.) and a diploma in Graphic Design from Seneca College. James has shown his work in many venues in Toronto and Durham region; such as the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, York University, A – Space Gallery, The Station Gallery, Robert Mc Laughlin Art Gallery, Meta 4 Contemporary Gallery and currently has works on display at the Scugog Arts Gallery & the store “Panorama”, both in downtown Port Perry. His paintings have been purchased by both individual and private companies, including York University.

Most recently, James’s artistic abilities were recognized by M.P. Erin O’Toole, as one of three practising visual artists in Durham region to receive a certificate of acknowledgement for their artistic achievement. Enjoy the contemporary style of landscape painting he calls Dripscape.