Jim Lamb

Works

Landscapes

Overview

California Impressionist, Jim Lamb, captures the landscape and other subjects in nature using the plein air technique of painting outdoors and directly in view of his subject. To capture the natural light, he paints quickly, attempting to depict an “impression” of the scene rather than a detailed copy. Whether it be the vibrant orange of California Poppies, the emerald green of the coastal pacific coves, or luscious lavender in the California hills, Jim Lamb’s sumptuous works invite us to revel in the inspirational beauty around us. Lamb does not seek to capture the qualities of a specific location but rather the beauty, luminosity and color harmonies of the California landscape. "Painting outdoors is invigorating to me. I enjoy the solitude, the sights and sounds of the outdoors. I'm driven by the challenge of capturing directly on canvas the essence of what inspires me."

Video

Jim Lamb Artist Profile from Jim Lamb on Vimeo.

Biography

Immersing himself in majestic surroundings is part of Jim Lamb’s daily routine, whether it’s the rolling hills California or its pacific coast beaches. Capturing the beauty of the natural world is his every day reality. An award-winning participant in the selective Northwest Rendezvous group of painters, Jim Lamb is also a regular participant in a number of prestigious California invitational shows, including the Laguna Beach plein air painting invitational and Sonoma plein air show. "A large percentage of my paintings are created on location, "en plein air." Painting outdoors is invigorating to me. I enjoy the solitude, the sights and sounds of the outdoors. I'm driven by the challenge of capturing directly on canvas the essence of what inspires me."

Jim Lamb was born in Hamilton, Montana and grew up in the Puget Sound area of the Pacific Northwest. Having parents who appreciated art and the beauty of nature instilled in Jim from an early age the desire to create artwork. The family often made trips to the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, where Jim was exposed to the representational interpretations of many of the great German landscape painters of the past century. Their use of color and the handling of light intrigued the young artist and had a direct influence upon his interest in one day depicting the landscape in oil on canvas.

In Southern California Jim slowly began to build his reputation as a freelance illustrator while taking courses at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. However, Jim’s long-held interest in the landscape remained with him over the years, and eventually led him to pursue his passion for painting the landscape. Jim’s illustration career had been built around working from photographs, so the idea of working from life, with all of the challenges presented by nature, made him realize that he was going to have to learn how to paint, and to paint more rapidly. It was an awesome challenge. To meet this challenge, Jim took workshops from the leading contemporary landscape painters – a move that would later prove to be invaluable to his artistic career.

In 1991 Lamb was chosen Artist of the Year for the nationally recognized Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina. The US Postal Service included Jim's work in a show at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA displaying the best of 40 years of U.S. stamp designs. As a member of the California Art Club, Jim has exhibited his work in the Club’s annual prestigious Gold Medal Exhibition. He is also a member of the Western Rendezvous of Art (NWR) group of artists and the Plein Air Painters of Washington.

Exhibitions