JAMES M. LAWLESS

The artist, born in 1949, spent his childhood among sailboats and garveys on the waters of Toms River and Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. Primarily a self-taught artist, he has experimented with various media, including acrylics, water colors, oils, pencil & ink and snow and sand sculpture. For two years he lived on Martha’s Vineyard concentrating on painting the land and seascapes that make this island oasis so alluring to the artist seeking luminosity. He has studied under contemporary realist Dominique Rickard and renowned marine artist Don Demers, and is strongly influenced by the works of John Stobart and Richard Schmid.

An avid sailor, he has extensively cruised the waters of the northeast and raced his 35' cutter Spináche in several Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Races finishing 4th in class in 1993, 1995 and 1999, and taking first overall honors in 2001. Sailing excursions around Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket have inspired works depicting present and past scenes of these romantic waters. Nantucket Lightship, an acrylic painting of the historic vessel, won honorable mention in the 1988 Sea Heritage Marine Art Contest and was exhibited at the South Street Seaport. Moonlight on Nantucket-1901, an oil painting of the side wheel steamer named for the island, entering Nantucket harbor under a full moon, was awarded third prize in the 1990 Sea Heritage Marine Art Contest and was on exhibit at the Smith Gallery, Madison Ave., New York. His marine paintings have received Honorable Mention (1995, 2000) and Second Place (2001) in the exhibit “Artists on the Campus” at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY, and Edgartown Regatta took First Place in the 2002 Arts Alliance Juried Show in Cornwall, NY. In May 2001 he received Artist Member status after a portfolio review by the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA), and in 2004 his painting Menemsha-No Hurry was chosen for ASMA’s prestigious National Exhibition. In February, 2005, his painting Naples-Morning Arrival was chosen for “The Peoples Choice” award in the Naples Wet Paint Auction. Other works have been on exhibit at Painter’s Tavern, Cornwall, NY, the Lycian Center, Sugar Loaf, NY and the John Stobart Gallery, Edgartown, MA. The prestigious American Artist Magazine has featured Lawless' artistic development, philosophy and success with an article in the May 2006 issue titled "Transitioning Into Fine Art" written by Editor-in-Chief M. Stephen Doherty.

The artist is currently exhibiting his original oils at the Granary Gallery on Martha’s Vineyard and at J.Todd Galleries in Wellesley, MA. Giclée prints are available on Martha's Vineyard Island at the Island Art Gallery in Vineyard Haven and directly from the Lawless Gallery (see below).