James Coleman (American artist)

James Coleman is an American painter who has worked for Disney as a background artist on numerous animated features. In 1991, after twenty-two years working for Disney, James left to pursue the true passion in his life, fine art. [Doyle, p. 54]

Biography

James Coleman was born in Hollywood, California in 1949. His first job at Disney Studios was one his mother, a secretary there, got for him. It was in the mailroom...but it was a paycheck, and eventually led him to meet the right people.

His big break came when he entered a painting in the Disney Studio Art Show. A man named Ken Anderson, a top artist and story man for Disney, saw his potential and encouraged James to go into animation background painting. [http://www.christcenteredmall.com/stores/art/coleman/james_coleman_biography.htm] This landed him his first gig as a background painter on Disney's "The Rescuers". [http://www.collectorseditions.com/disney/vitae.php?aID=506coleman]

Coleman's career took off after that:

"This was a major event for me. At first, I didn't realize just how major it was. But it literally changed my life. I had no idea what it would lead to." [Doyle, p. 41]

Well, it lead to a career spanning nearly 3 decades and more than 25 films. But Coleman's true passion always laid in Fine Art, and he eventually left Disney in order to pursue this field fulltime. He likens this life changing decision to a window needing to be opened:

"Windows can be intimidating because you don't know what's out there. But once you step through it, you're faced with this enormous amount of possibility. I never liked looking at windows directly, because once I see one, I have to go through it." [Doyle, p. 33]

However, James couldn't stay away from Disney for too long. Eventually he found himself mixing fine art with those all too familiar Disney Characters he had worked alongside for so many years. [http://www.collectorseditions.com/disney/artist.php?aID=506coleman]

elected Filmography

Personal Quotes

*(On his short stint at art school)"One of the teachers said he was going to take us into his studio and show us a brush stroke he had worked his whole life to invent. I just looked at this guy and said to myself: 'This is a bunch of nonsense!' I realized he was intellectualizing something that, in my mind, was a spiritual thing. Painting isn't an intellectual study . . . it comes from the heart." [Doyle, p. 20]

*(On his Process)"Basically, I see something, store it in my mind and study it. Then, when I get back to the studio, it just comes out . . . Everything we see is imprinted in our brain. And if we're able to connect with those images, we can call them back and use them." [Doyle, p. 13]

*(On Disney)"I can remember Walt Disney getting the Academy Award for Marry Poppins and thinking, 'That's what I want to do someday...'" [Doyle, p. 32]

Notes

References

*cite book |last=Doyle |first=Mark (ed.) |title=The Life & Work of James Coleman |year=1995 |publisher =Coleman Studios Inc. |isbn =0-9646447-0-3 |edition=First edition

External Links

* [http://www.collectorseditions.com/disney/artist.php?aID=506coleman Artist Official Disney Fine Art Site]
*imdb name|id=0171077|name=James Coleman
* [http://www.jamescoleman.com Artist's Official Site]