James Hardman

James Hardman was born in Seattle in 1957 and grew up in Edmonds. He studied painting with Paul Glenn at Fairhaven College and music composition with Lockrem Johnson of Cornish School.

James moved to Waldron Island in 1977 and settled on Orcas in 1978, where he has lived ever since in a former cabin of Buckhorn Lodge.

He has composed extensively for piano, electronic instruments and choral ensembles, and produced nine albums of original solo instrumental music, some of which have been distributed internationally.

He is best known in the Northwest for his signature style landscape paintings, which have been shown in dozens of one-man shows throughout the region. Typical of his subject matter are island shorelines featuring places like Sucia Island, Point Doughty, Madrona Point, and the lakes of Moran State Park. His distinctive technique has evolved from experimentation with pointillism and glazing methods dating back to the Renaissance.

The James Hardman Gallery, in the loft above the Orcas Island Artworks in Olga, displays a large selection of his current original paintings. Limited edition prints and music CDs are also available at jameshardman.com

ARTIST STATEMENT
“The heart of my workday begins when I step out of the studio to take my afternoon walk. After two or three miles of walking, something subtle but remarkable happens. My attention shifts from the concerns of the day to a vivid awareness of what is around me. I begin to notice that I am surrounded by other living things, that every particle of the landscape is vibrating with life. My visual perception becomes both more focused and more peripheral, more detailed and more diffused. This perception, this sense, is at the core of my desire to paint.”