James Hartman Art

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A green vase with pink roses graces the center of a dining table. Food, dishes, and cutlery tell a story of a vibrant life. Using a cradled panel, artist James ...

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This encaustic painting blends the elements of still life and seascape, portraying a table set up of rosé against the backdrop of a tranquil bay. The compositi...

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Artist James Hartman demonstrates a mesmerizing abstract landscape of a Californian mountain range. He starts the piece by building up texture using gesso and b...

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Artist James Hartman combines a vibrant still life with a view of the San Franciso Bay and the Berkeley hills in a captivating encaustic piece. Created on a cradled panel, James utilizes a collage of antique ephemera...

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Artist James Hartman displays an enchanting view of Mt. Diablo in the Bay Area. A path opens between a grove of trees leading into the tall mountains. James represents the different natural elements of the composition in a vibrant color palette. Painted en plein air, James says of the medium, "I like using oils for their buttery consistency."

About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six...

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Standing at the top of a small winding road in Northern California, artist James Hartman worked to capture the quiet autumn light falling across the landscape...

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James Hartman paints a verdant landscape of vast rolling hills with two red barns on the field. He brings to life a visual image he captured as a sketch at Mt. ...

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A burst of vibrant colors falls on the slopes and trees of this expressionistic landscape. Artist James Hartman layers beeswax over a collage of 100-year-old vintage paper...

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Artist James Hartman draws inspiration from the experience of seeing sunlit colors and details appearing through the strong vertical tree pattern. He expresses the painting sections to appear like stained glass. James highlights small areas where collaged 100-year-old paper show through the surface, he does this in a non-disruptive way. James applies heat to fuse the oils into a mixture of beeswax and damar crystals to seal the work.

About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six, a group of artists who painted en plein air (outdoors) and exhibited together in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 20th Century. James's paintings of the Northern California landscape pay tribute to some of the great Bay Area artists of the past. His expressive scenes feel alive through his vibrant use of color and his painterly brushwork. James’s paintings have an immediate visual impact from a distance, yet up close, dissolve into a series of confident marks and strokes. There is a simultaneous complexity and steadiness in his flattened, color-blocked planes. Knowledge and observation are essential elements of James’s working practice. To this end, he spends a large proportion of his time painting on location. His body of work captures the fresh and sunlit essence of the coastal California hills.

Words that describe this painting: expressionism, encaustic, beeswax, collage, antique ephemera...

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A diverse encaustic painting by artist James Hartman where he simultaneously portrays a vibrant still life and a brilliant seascape. James paints on a base of collage on a cradled panel which is then coated in molten beeswax. After which James fuses the materials using controlled heat. "I enjoy the way the heat can be used to edit the painting."

About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six, a group of artists who painted en plein air (outdoors) and exhibited together in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 20th Century. James's paintings of the Northern California landscape pay tribute to some of the great Bay Area artists of the past. His expressive scenes feel alive through his vibrant use of color and his painterly brushwork. James’s paintings have an immediate visual impact from a distance, yet up close, dissolve into a series of confident marks and strokes. There is a simultaneous complexity and steadiness in his flattened, color-blocked planes. Knowledge and observation are essential elements of James’s working practice. To this end, he spends a large proportion of his time painting on location. His body of work captures the fresh and sunlit essence of the coastal California hills.

Words that describe this painting: table, still life, encaustic, beeswax, wine, flowers, bay, lemons, vase, water, oranges, mixed media, expressive, food, impressionism, still life, encaustic artwork

Bay Window...

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A vibrant encaustic on wood painted with oil over a collage of antique ephemera. Artist James Hartman portrays a colorful still ...

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Artist James Hartman paints an expressionist still life of vibrant blooming tulips arranged in a teal and purple vase. James shows his love for street art influ...

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Artist James Hartman depicts a group of sailboats docked neatly on the harbor. Glistening turquoise waters sway gently before a vivid green forest. Broken color...

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A warm and vibrant display of orange and yellow flowers in vases, with fruits, cutlery, and wine by artist James Hartman. A painting hangs against the red wall while a view of another room peeks from the left. Part of James' series of interiors using collage, beeswax, and oil paints. "My process is by experiment since the ancient art of encaustics was once lost," shares James. He fuses the pigment into beeswax giving them permanence, preserving the vibrant colors. "I like to begin the process by collaging antique...

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Fiery trees tower over a path that opens up to a sparkling hidden beach. Artist James Hartman rendered this piece by first creating his own cradled panel. He ...

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"I've chosen one of my favorite painting vantage points on the Bay Area mountain Mt. Diablo," shares artist James Hartman. "The cows are just about to enter t...

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A peaceful landscape balanced between impressionism and abstraction. "The edge quality was something that I liked about this work," says artist James Hartman. H...

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Artist James Hartman created this summer still life using the Zorn palette. Named after the Swedish artist Anders Zorn, the limited palette consists of just f...

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"This painting ties together several of my interests," explains artist James Hartman. A sunlit table arranged with citrus, vessels and a vase of irises overlooks a calm day on the bay, with a rowing team...

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An elaborate still life setting filled with fruit, flowers, dishware and items from James's studio. Warm orange, red and yellow pop against purples and greens. ...

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Continuing with his recent theme of still lifes composed of meaningful objects he's collected over time, artist James Hartman approached this composition with...

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Sweeping sunlight across fields at the edge of the woods is the inspiration for this painting. Lots of cerulean blue in the mix gives the woods a late-in-the-...

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Artist James Hartman says this tranquil landscape was inspired by a stay at these cabins at the edge of Clear Lake in northern California. While there, he compl...

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An expressionist rendering of a mountain road. James painted the scene using color as a way to move through the picture. In the foreground, abstracted figures...

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I wanted to paint the beauty of this mountain ranch in the San Francisco Bay Area. Multiple rounds of painting over a prepared ground layer.

About...

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James created this painting in his studio from a plein air sketch he did on location in Berkeley. At the beginning of his career, James spent over a decade painting outdoors with his mentors. They revealed to him all of the spots in the area that were passed on to them through Louis Siegriest, the last surviving member of the famed Society of Six. This path along the marina is an example of one of these locations. James returned to this spot with his group of two or three other artists multiple times to capture the nuances.

About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six, a group of artists who painted en plein air (outdoors) and exhibited together in the San Francisco Bay...

Artist Comments
A cradled panel is laid with vintage sewing tissues as a mordant to adhere the beeswax. I did an underpainting in ink then used a prismatic palette to lead th...

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In this colorful landscape, James Hartman explores color placement and contrasts. The painting was worked on over a period of time, giving glimpses of differe...

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My intention here is to get the viewer to feel as if they were on a mountain in Northern California. I covered my wood panel with glue and paper as a mordant for the beeswax / damar crystal coating. I use oils and pigments for color and a propane torch to get the medium molten.

About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six, a group of artists who painted en plein air (outdoors) and exhibited together in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 20th Century. James's paintings of the Northern California landscape pay tribute to some of the great Bay Area artists of the past. His expressive scenes feel alive through his vibrant use of color and his painterly brushwork. James’s paintings have an immediate visual impact from a distance, yet up close, dissolve into a series of confident marks and strokes. There is a simultaneous complexity and steadiness in his flattened, color-blocked planes. Knowledge and observation are essential elements of James’s working practice. To this end, he spends a large proportion of his time painting on location. His body of work captures the fresh and sunlit essence of the coastal California hills.

Cows on Mount Diablo...