James Bell - An Artist and a Work of Art - Live Performance Painting

James Bell

London, United Kingdom

Mediums: acrylic, canvas, board, kettle, brushes

Style: live and abstract

 

London based, James Bell is a live performance painter that creates his dynamic work during art exhibitions and various events. He thrives on captivating an audience as he dances and throws paint. Some describe his work as 'quirky' whilst others prefer the term 'endearing'.

 

Darnley Gallery Performance © James Bell

 

Early memories creating:

I am a very nostalgic artist. I have vivid memories of the art room during my years at primary school, which were some of my first times learning about paint. I would often receive merits and certificates for my work which I suppose led me to take art seriously at a young age.

 

Music and art

Anything from Tori Amos to Kylie Minogue, my tastes are rather eclectic so it generally depends on my mood; which is also very eclectic!

 

Meanings from my art

I prefer the viewers to share their own thoughts and opinions with me. Most of my works have many political and emotional meanings hidden beneath the surface, but perhaps it is wiser to leave them that way.

 

Middlesex Cat Hill Performance © James Bell

 

Process of Creation

I do live painting performances, so most of my current work is created in short spaces of time during an event or art exhibition. My tools are usually canvas or board, a kettle (for water), a few bowls for mixing paint, some big brushes and my collection of acrylic paints. I sometimes dance and paint to music, live bands can be a fantastic inspiration, although sometimes I prefer to paint to only the sound of the audience that surrounds me.

 

Exhibitions

I have been fortunate to exhibit in many group shows across London. In order of the most recent, I have shown work or performed at The Islington Arts Factory, The Mile End Art Pavilion, Hackney Downs Gallery, Vyner Street Gallery, Kentish Towns ‘The Alma Street Fair’, The Sanctum Soho Hotel, Vibe Gallery and the infamous Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

 

 

Online Art Promotion

I maintain my own website (http://jamesbell.co.uk) and various social media, most regularly Facebook and Twitter. It can be time consuming to keep everything up to date, but I really believe that the harder you work the more that you will achieve, and I actually quite enjoy promoting my work anyway!

 

Please recommend another admired artist

Recently I have been intrigued by the drawings of upcoming artist Jon Kvedaras, who works mostly in pen and paint. Based in London, every drawing Jon creates is packed full of raw emotion and energy and I really look forward to seeing where his work will take him in the future.
You can find his work at http://liguidleather.tumblr.com/

 

Alma Street Fair Performance © James Bell

 

Future Artistic Plans

Work hard and achieve as much as possible. They say that the sky is the limit, so I will take a rocket and fly even further into space!

 

James Bell - An Artist and a Work of Art! - Live Performance Painting

London, United Kingdom

Website: http://jamesbell.co.uk | Twitter | Facebook page