James Ainslie’s preferred palette is acrylic paint on paper, with the occasional use of mixed media.
His forte is modern realism, although he also produces abstract art.
Ainslie’s paintings resonate with an inherent passion for the country’s unique beauty, particularly the sandy dunes and reflective waters of Queensland and South Australia.
Ainslie was born in SA in 1950, graduated in art from the South Australian School of Art and has exhibited throughout Australia and overseas since 1975. Sand and water have always inspired his work, harking back to a childhood in South Australia, spent playing around the Coorong and exploring the huge sand tracts around the Murray River. Now living in Noosa, he has turned his attention to the undulating dunes of Fraser Island and the many beaches along the Sunshine Coast shoreline.
Annual visits to Broome ensure that Kakadu and The Kimberley remain strong influences.
Ainslie was regularly an artist in residence at Ayers Rock, and was invited to represent South Australia in London with 6 other artists, and showed at the Museum of Fine Art in Pasadena, U.S.A. with Ainslie Roberts and Garry Duncan. James won the prestigious Camberwell Flora & Fauna Prize in 1990 and was co-winner of the Barossa Valley Heritage Award.
His work is featured in prestigious collections such as Artbank; BP Australia; Reserve Bank of Australia; Mobil Australia; William Hancock collection, San Francisco; Banker’s Trust; Diamond Merchants, South Africa; and many public and private collections worldwide.
Represented by Without Pier ,Melbourne, Victoria ;Art Images ,Adelaide; Gallery One, Q.L.D.; Red Hill Gallery Q.L.D., Art Nuvo, Buderim Q.L.D.:Aarwun Gallery Canberra : Gallery: Manyung Gallery ,Vic.,.; Gallery Beneath ,Q.L.D , Shoalhaven Fine Art & Framing gallery : N.S.W.: Lethbridge Gallery, Q.L.D.
Solo Exhibitions
2014 Trio @ Red Hill with Richard Bogus ,R.W Allen
2013 Duo in Gadfly Gallery Perth
2013 Hong Kong Art Fair
2013 Traffic Jam Gallery
2012 Kensington Gallery, Adelaide
2012 Traffic Jam Gallery , Sydney
2011 Gallery Eumundi Q.L.D.
2010 Studio 7, Queensland
2010 Gallery Eumundi Q.L.D.
Collections
Frampton Real Estate Pty Ltd
Artbank
WINNER 1990 CAMBERWELL FLORA & FAUNA ART PRIZE VICTORIA
BP Australia
Mobil Oil Australia
Diamond Merchants South Africa
Macquarie Broadcasting
Media Escape Pty Ltd
Kernewek Lowender Collection
Myles Pearce & Co. Pty Ltd
A.M.P. Society
Workcover
St John Council of S.A. Inc
State Bank Collection
Reserve Bank Collection of S.A
Reserve Bank Collection of W.A.
Barossa Valley Heritage Collection
William Hancock Collection
San Francisco...U.S.A.
Samphire Resources Perth
Glen Fryer Melbourne
Bankers Trust Australia
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
England, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Ireland, America, Canada, Thailand.
As an artist my paintings are often a direct result of a location.
It is the colours, textures, smells, patterns, in fact the essence of a place that inspires my Images. The interpretation may be realistic, but often may develop more abstractly.