J. Mayes

J. Mayes was born in 1968, lives in Nottinghamshire. He has been painting and drawing since an early age and later studied Graphic Design.

His journey is interesting and diverse, as he went from periods in telesales to stints as a resident pianist in various hotels.

J. Mayes originally started out as a more traditional painter of wildlife and portraiture but his art soon developed into an expressionistic and alternative view of landscapes, using classic motifs such as houses, trees, and hills to re-evaluate how he perceives reality and the relationship between synthetic and natural objects. Trees and houses are a main theme in his present work. They are very much an emotional expression of his visualized imagery and memory rather than objective studies. He tries to create a feeling of warmth and serenity with his painting as well as a view of objective reality at a slant. He applies texture to his work, marking it with the knife to add extra depth, and invests in deep rich colours to give a feeling of warmth and comfort, suggesting mystery with unusual shadows and colours.

With elements of both expressionism and folk art, he likes to produce whimsical and intriguing ideas of man-made environments.

J. Mayes is beginning to sell internationally, with strong success, and has exhibited in various locations across the UK, including Cambridge. He is hoping to exhibit shortly at two major galleries in his home city of Nottingham, one of them being the new Nottingham Contemporary Art Center.