About James

James McGrew first backpacked in Yosemite at just four months old and subsequent family camping/backpacking trips inspired an early interest in art and nature as he was constantly drawing and painting. He began using pastels at age 8 and his father's oils at 10. Today he is best known for his oil paintings interpreting western National Parks. A strong background in natural sciences (degrees in biology, chemistry, and geology, and grad work for M.S. in Environmental Ed) helps James understand his natural subjects as well as to carry on the tradition of 19th-century artists whose images helped to establish the first national parks. He also lends his art background to his work as a summer seasonal Yosemite ranger/naturalist as he has for the past 25 Summers. His primary objective in painting is to help inspire love and protection of our national parks and the environment as a whole.

James prefers to paint direct from life and often works up to about 30x40 en plein air. However, he creates his most refined and largest paintings in the studio from his plein air references. He hikes or backpacks several hundred miles a year, looking for unique perspectives and a deeper connection with nature. He works to create paintings that not only visually portray a scene but also convey the emotions of the actual experience. Although inspired by a combination of Romanticism and Impressionism, McGrew paints with a style uniquely his own.

McGrew’s paintings hang in collections around the world and have shown in numerous solo shows, national and international exhibitions and plein air invitationals, receiving many awards including best of show at Grand Canyon Celebration of Art and Maui Plein Air Invitational, the prestigious Zion Foundation Award, and many People’s/Collector's Choice Awards at Grand Canyon, Zion, Sedona, Carmel, Maui and others. He is an artist member of the California Art Club and a signature member of both the American Impressionist Society and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. His work has been featured in articles of Fine Art Connoisseur, Plein Air Magazine, Southwest Art, and Western Art Collector. He is featured in several films including the Zion National Park Visitor Center orientation film and international festival film, Forever is Now and Yosemite Lightdances. He has authored a chapter about art history in a book about Yosemite and presented as keynote speaker at numerous art and science conferences and presented on stage and as a field painter at Plein Air Convention, 2016, Tucson. When teaching workshops, James interweaves art and science in an entertaining manner easy to understand and he has volunteered countless hours teaching art history in elementary through high schools. He loves backpacking with his family.

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