Hand-drawn comic books of science fiction stories and stick figures drawn in the margins of high school notebooks foreshadowed the art James Owens makes today. Digital photo-manipulation blends with oils and acrylics to hint at narratives that start off the page and speak of fantastic worlds. The human figure is a constant fascination for James, and he has studied it infomally for decades. Semi-formally trained, starting in high school and later at Ambassador University in Texas, Mr. Owens is a resident of South Euclid, and has hung art in shows in Oregon and California and has a small but fascinated following online.
James’ journey into creativity did not start with images, but with words. Reading was a constant past-time in the Owens’ household, and a constant phrase heard in the house was “Jim! Where did you put my book!?” Science fiction competed with Christian cult religious tracts, and in all cases the story was the key. When pictures came along they were always a medium for telling the story. High school and a love of technology brought exposure to cameras and computers, and four years at Penn State included a first taste of organized art studies. A career in computers was interrupted by four years of theology studies in Texas, and more classes in drawing, photography, design, and painting.
The early 2000’s were a period of exploration and growth for James Owens. Independent classes in the art of the human figure developed his skill in photography and drawing, and developments in computer technology introduced Jim (can we call him Jim? I think we know him well enough now to call him Jim) to 2D and 3D computer art. Always, in the background of the images there was a story going on, a tale to be told, for anyone who studied the picture. What were these people doing? What were these people feeling? Where were these people going?
Sprinkled throughout the last few decades have been published works of fiction such as “New Allegory” (a collaboration with Jeff Plotkin) and “Castaway Transformations” (a spin off of the online Dargon Project), along with many works of art, unpublished and published, that were collaborations with other artists and models. In addition to two dimensional works of the human figure, Mr. Owens has also organized local art events for artists, hosted a series of workshops on the human figure, and participated in body painting events.
Jim has discovered that in any work of art there is a text, a subtext, and a context; to understand the art you need to stand where the artist wants you to stand. As he works on each version of a piece, Jim is also working on the subversion of the conversation that happens in the mind of the viewer. For him the story continues, behind and beside and above the frames. Expect to see more of the story revealed in future pieces.
You can see some of his art here.