James Downie ~ Biography
Header Photo: Redundant Border Collie (Detail) by James Downie, 2014
Oil on stretched canvas, 30 cm × 30 cm
Enlarge Image
Private Collection
© James Downie
James Downie: Biography
Biography >> Gallery >> James Downie Paintings In Stock >> Sell Your James Downie Painting >> Advertise >> Northern Art Books and Dvds available @ amazon.com
James Downie ~ Biography
2021: Buy directly from the artist @ ebay.co.uk (direct link to his paintings). Downie tends to list them when not as a buy it now then to end every Sunday evening so it's worth putting time aside then to bid. He usually lists 5 - 10 paintings to end at this time in one go.
James Downie (the artist) was at one time fast becoming one of the most collectable artists on the internet. Born in Manchester in 1949, he went to school in south Manchester. He was always interested in art and spent many hours in the town galleries studying the old masters. It was his best subject at school and he just loved painting. He keeps trying to perfect his art as best he can.
For me, James Downie belongs to that School of Northern English Artists which the great Lowry so dominated. These days, Lowry's prices are well beyond most of us so Downie was, and remains in my opinion, a supremely attractive alternative. I would described his paintings as having a charming sophisticated naivity at their heart.
I for one can think of no other British artist alive today who comes close to Downie when it comes to his intepretation of the mythical world of Lowry. From around 2011 for the next two years or so his fame grew almost daily - the cult of James Downie had begun ...
What excited me about this 'explosion' of fame was that it totally bypassed the art critics. They were totally irrevelant, no-one knew what they said about his work because no-one was listening. 'The fame' was pushed on by the public and their growing appreciation of his work. I suppose in that respect he was similar to Lowry with many critics in his lifetime dismissing him as a 'Sunday painter'.
Who then is the most loved of all British artists by the British public in the last 100 years? Of course, it's Lowry.
The following for Downie's work grewing quickly in the above mentioned period and the icing on the cake was that it appeared on the popular British TV show emntioned below.. In less than a year his prices doubled on the open market. Just getting them onto here in that period proved harder and harder just because of the craziness of the prices. They have now gone back to the pre-2011 prices.
An extensive gallery of his paintings is here. James Downie paintings for sale here. Sell your Downie painting here. Historical facts about the artist are below and give a sense of 'the buzz' that was around the artist a few years ago. The fame of Downie seems to increase by the day and is about to go into overdrive due to his work appearing on national tv. His work has just featured on the BBC's popular Flog It programme (aired 3rd Oct. 11). The part on him starts about 32 mins into the programme and goes onto the end. If you have never seen the series the premise is this: Flog It is an established successful BBC series where members of the public bring their antiques to be viewed and valued by a team of experts. They are then given the option, with the help of experts, to sell their items at an auction. On each show, valuations are carried out by two experts and sometimes by presenter Paul Martin himself. It's fascinating viewing. What does it tell us? Well, having watched this programme over the years, it's very rare for them to include a living artist whose fame is just beginning to grow. From what I can gather, they included 3 of his works for auction based on the quality of the work (the experts loved them) as well as being made aware of 'his following'. Even Paul Martin's sidekick admitted he would love to have them on his own walls. Such publicity is priceless and so many artists would give anything for it. It clearly reveals an artist who, in my opinon, is just going to explode in terms of public recognition of his work. We do not get any closer to the artist, the man. He remains enigmatic, mysterious, in the same way no-one ever really got close to the essence of Lowry. The basic facts, age, where is from, where he is now, and the work are the only things revealed. The ghost of the artist remain elusive, gone with the wind. James Downie: Biography Biography >> Gallery >> James Downie Paintings In Stock >> Sell Your James Downie Painting >> Advertise >> Northern Art Books and Dvds available @ amazon.comJames Downie ~ Flog It!
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