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Jim Pescott — Artist

Artist's Bio

Jim Pescott's approach to painting is best described as layered dots shaping the subject with no defining lines. For this unique visual artist, seeing the world this way describes relationships existing between all things in our world.

"With no defining boundaries, everything depends on everything else to simply exist and this reflects co-existence and harmony around us."

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Jim now resides in Calgary, Alberta, where after twenty-five years he left a business career to rekindle childhood passions for art.

"One of my earliest memories involves watching an artist draw a cowboy. Since that time I've always chased pictures. So, quite simply, I love to paint. I paint what I see and what I feel, whatever it is that interests me at any given time. It isn't much more complicated than that. It could be light coming through a grove of trees or a solitary lighthouse. And I especially love how natural light and the shadows change the colors: it is so special to be able to watch this happening somewhere and relate it in my art. For me, it is a celebration, and a gift, to paint the way that I paint. Every painting is a meditation: a building becomes the air and the air becomes the building, a portrait has no lines, the prairie, mountains and sky are one."

A love of nature sourced Jim's childhood experiences in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, where he grew up amidst environments that fostered dark rainforest landscapes that constantly encroach on farm fields.

"Where I grew up the color green seemed to have a fragrance. The flood plains in the Fraser Valley endless varieties of plants and fauna: the ecology is filled with an unforgettable expression of life and spirituality."

Jim brings his sense of life and spirituality to all his subject material: the human face, a prairie horizon, an urban park, a sea shore, an animal's eyes, a farm building, whatever. His modern impressionist approach akin to Pointillism, involves simple dots as brush strokes. Jim paints dots that layer and mingle with no defining lines so a tree crosses over to become the air and the air becomes the tree.

"Painting for me seems akin to spiritual experience. There is a gift that has been given to me from a divine source and I use it as creatively as I can to communicate the image, energy and spirit of what I see. Through painting I've learned so much about how everything is linked to everything and the dots I paint reveal these connections. Nothing exists alone. For me, there really are no hard boundaries between things, everything on earth is connected. A building is part of the air and air is part of the building. Expressing this in my art is such a privilege, such a thrill. I love being able to share this through my art."

Experiences in nature have remained a central energy in his interpretations.

Jim Pescott is self-taught, sourcing his deep appreciation for what is around him.

"My father loved art. When I was a kid, kitchen table talk often included subjects like perspective, composition, form and natural light. Dad always had art books around. One time he told me that if a person could draw a stone they could draw any thing: I remember picking up rocks I liked and drawing them."

Artist's Technique

"My palette feels so based on light."

Viewers of Jim's paintings often relate to a feeling of light, energy and magic as they watch the colors on his canvas.

"My work is certainly reminiscent of Pointillism. Georges Seurat and his followers brought the world pointillism in the late 1800's. Dots and points are similar. But for me it ends there as I don't use the color perception approach pointillists like Seurat use such as placing blue and yellow together so people would see green. When asked I refer to my approach to painting as contemporary pointillism but I often think of it simply as "dotillism". I use dots for my sense of understanding and interpretation. I use color to relate shapes and communicate intimate relationships and energy, so when I paint a mosaic image of layered dots is the result. I use acrylic paint and mix all the colors from primary red, blue and yellow. My palette is quite limited. I use white as well and very little black. A tube of black will be in my painting kit for a couple of years. The acrylic paint dries quickly and generally allows me to work as continuously as I like."

"When I paint I really don't think about what it is in terms of style, I think about what I'm communicating: this is what matters most to me as what I'm communicating is about the relationships that exist between everything that we see in our world."

"Whereas Seurat spent enormous time on each work, my paintings take thirty to forty hours, depending on size, although the small canvas such as 8" x 10" will be proportionately less. I paint to feel my senses and emotions flow so spending a literal millennium on a piece would not satisfy my innate needs. The dots I place on the canvas will be any where from about one eight inch, or two millimeters, to the size of an average fingernail. I layer these dots and during the process some dots succumb to burial as no dot is sacred in the process. The dots also go beyond any defining border; in fact there are no drawn lines in my work. I start a painting with a single dot and flow from there as I find the sensitivity and feeling of the piece. There is communication occurring, while I paint, between myself, the colors and the dots and ultimately it is the painting that decides where the dot will go."

Growing up with access to creeks, woods and creatures encouraged Jim to observe and explore the natural environment. This was the same self-teaching process to things that he has maintained all his life. His understanding about the world he lives in is based on the foundation thought that while there is a divinely sourced created element involved with all individual things, nothing exists on its own: trees, air, vehicles, stones, berries, squirrels, buildings, people, insects, whatever we can think of, all mingle at some level with each other. There is an incredible energy involved with these relationships and this is the primary conceptual source of his work.

Artistic Achievements — Current Shows

• Over the last few years Jim has appeared on national television and done numerous magazine interviews. He's also traveled to Florence, Italy to exhibit his work in Biennale Internazionale del l'Arte Contemporanea.

• His paintings have been used on movie sets. UNICEF identified two of his paintings as potential candidates for a collection of winter greeting cards.

• Jim is also an avid creative writer, having contributed articles to numerous fine art magazines and art websites. He has a growing subscriber list to his newsletter that's available on his website.

• His art work can be found in many art galleries across Canada.

• He regularly shares his talents in workshops and frequents many a local art market bringing his unique art to art lovers everywhere.

• Jim is a member of Landscape Artists International (www.l-a-i.com)

• Jim has also been a member of the Holistic Speakers Bureau. If you are interested in having Jim talk to your group or to do a workshop, don't hesitate to contact him.

Contact Information

Painting in Dots — Jim Pescott — Visual Artist — www.jimpescott.com

14315 Evergreen Street SW, Calgary, AB

Tel: (403) 201-2263

For additional information or to purchase Jim's unique art work, email him at:

"Nothing on this earth is solitary, everything is connected. Pointillism allows me this exploration."

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