Meet James Harris

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to James Harris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

James, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Most likely my parents and their generation. My father would work two jobs sometimes. Also, my environment. I grew up in Massachusetts, which is very cold in the winter – if you didn’t chop the wood in the summer, you wouldn’t have any warmth in the winter.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m an American Artist living in Japan. Living in Japan has had a great influence on me and my art. Walking the streets of Tokyo, I am able to soak in the visual vocabulary of the urban landscape and later rearrange in my paintings and drawings. I’m also heavily influenced by various forms of architecture, technology and the Italian Futurists. I found futurism and science fiction as a great vehicle to express myself.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Going to Art school was critical for my career. I attended The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston back in the 1980’s – the teachers there were really great. The environment of the 1980’s was a fantastic time in the art world. Anything seemed possible at the time. Going up as a child in the 1960’s was very important for me because I was exposed to the Apollo Moon Program and science fiction seemed to be everywhere back then. Star Trek, Lost in Space, Thunderbirds and later Space: 1999 and UFO were on tv. Also the colors seemed much brighter in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Lastly, living in New York City for 20 years was important for me because I went to art galleries and museums almost every day. It was great training seeing so much art.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Bill Flynn was my drawing teacher in art school who was was fundamental in helping my development as an artist. He had a saying I believe that went something like: “No art – just start” That’s why I’ve never had a creative block. Whenever I have a problem painting, I can think back at some of his advice and it always seems to help. His artwork is really fantastic.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Jim Harris

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