James Somerville was born in 1936.
James Somerville graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art. Somerville then undertook a career in art education at various Scottish Art establishments, eventually becoming National Development Officer for Art and Design in the Scottish Department of Education.
James Somerville decided to become a full-time contemporary Scottish artist in 1990. Since then Somerville has participated regularly the RSA and RSW annual exhibitions and has had several solo art shows in Scotland. James Somerville paintings have also shown at Art Fairs in London, Barcelona and New York.
Somerville's art displays a haunting, atmospheric quality with a fine sense of space and movement. Early training in wood engraving taught James Somerville to focus on the importance of planning light and shade into each work. A fascination with architectural subjects grew with travel in Greece, Spain and France.
James Somerville particularly enjoys depicting the way in which some architectural subjects seem to evolve from the landscape and merge with one another in an organic way. Although Somerville's contemporary art features various subjects including Still Life, a recurrent theme of his paintings is this exploration of buildings, both Scottish and European, in their surroundings. Scottish Landscapes also feature in his work. Somerville's use of acrylic adds texture and strength of colour.
