James Coe
Growing up in the suburbs of New York City, he was fascinated early on by the egrets and shorebirds he noticed in nearby salt marshes, and he taught himself to identify the birds he spotted around town. He began to paint as a teen when he and a friend set out to compile a guide to the local birds.
Jim went on to Harvard, where he earned a degree in biology (with the goal of becoming an ornithologist), but received little formal training in art until he attended Parson’s School of Design in New York as a graduate student. There he studied in a traditional atelier setting, working primarily from the figure and still life, under the guidance of painters Paul Resika, Leland Bell, and John Heliker.
Today, Jim’s studio work is essentially a synthesis of the two genres: his paintings combine his passion for landscape with a finely detailed knowledge of natural history. In his newest canvases, he integrates birds into his landscapes, while striving still to maintain the freshness and vigorous brushwork of a plein air study. The chosen bird is usually one that Jim heard or observed while working on location. But the bird is not simply pasted into the scene for illustrative or narrative purposes; instead, Jim’s goal is to introduce an element of movement, color, or interest to the landscape. He hopes to evoke the poetic quality of birdwatching: that magical moment when bird, environment, and atmosphere merge into one memorable image.
Jim went on to Harvard, where he earned a degree in biology (with the goal of becoming an ornithologist), but received little formal training in art until he attended Parson’s School of Design in New York as a graduate student. There he studied in a traditional atelier setting, working primarily from the figure and still life, under the guidance of painters Paul Resika, Leland Bell, and John Heliker.
Today, Jim’s studio work is essentially a synthesis of the two genres: his paintings combine his passion for landscape with a finely detailed knowledge of natural history. In his newest canvases, he integrates birds into his landscapes, while striving still to maintain the freshness and vigorous brushwork of a plein air study. The chosen bird is usually one that Jim heard or observed while working on location. But the bird is not simply pasted into the scene for illustrative or narrative purposes; instead, Jim’s goal is to introduce an element of movement, color, or interest to the landscape. He hopes to evoke the poetic quality of birdwatching: that magical moment when bird, environment, and atmosphere merge into one memorable image.
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