James was born in Ilkley, Yorkshire in 1959. He went to school at St.Bees, Cumbria, where he developed his interest and talent for the theatre. Having spent 3 years at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, he set off on his long journey to fame and fortune working the theatres of Sheffield, Harrogate, Leeds, to name a few and finally at the Old Vic London. He also worked in the sister theatre to Scarborough's SJT, at the New Vic Theatre at Stoke on Trent under the directorship of Peter Cheeseman. His numerous TV credits ran alongside. Whilst this was all going on he also painted using all sorts of mediums and he designed and made his own furniture (he was too poor to buy new!). Three children and a Pandemic later he returned to the North of England from the South, where he bought a house with a studio in his garden, in Filey, 400 metres from the cliffs and beach. Here he finds inspiration to paint canvases with his vision of the area such as Rosedale and beyond.

'Be the artist you are, not the artist you want to be'