Biography

      James Yale was born in 1947 on a small farm in south west Missouri.  As a young child he soon began to express his interest and abilities in writing, drawing and painting.  His love and fascination for the arts was to become a life time journey.

     James was fortunate to begin studying with several  professional artist at a young age.  This early exposure of studying and apprenticing with established artist taught him many aspects of the art world that can not be obtained from a formal education.

     Albert Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge".  First, someone has to "imagine" to create, invent, discover or do something for the very first time.  Only then, others may learn from that first experience and teach it as "knowledge" to the rest of the world.

Yale began showing and selling his art while still in high school.  By the end of 1965 he opened his first studio to the public and began his professional career.      James continued to study under Arthur Boles, who was his mentor and college art professor.   He also studied under several commercial illustrators and portrait sketch artist, to gain experience and perfect his talents.   A great deal of time was spent traveling to galleries and museums across the country to see exhibits of artist he admires and observe and study their work in person.       Yale has owned and operated studios and fine art galleries in Missouri, Texas, and Arkansas. At the same time he has traveled the country from coast to coast sketching and painting portraits and receiving commissions for other work for over 40 years.

       James has illustrated newspapers, magazines, books, music albums and CD cover art.  He has also worked in advertising, producing print media, videos and  television commercials. He has received many awards for his commercial efforts as well as his fine art.

      His client list includes Portraits of John Tyson, founder of  Tyson Foods, Sam and Helen Walton of  Wal-Mart, past President Bill Clinton, Dr. Ben Spock and countless others around the world.

      Yale closed his last gallery, in Feb. 2002, to have more time to work in his studio and travel. He prefers to be the illusive artist and let the work speak for it's self.

      This is but a small sample of  Yale's variety and volume of work.  James' interest in mythology, metaphysics, and cosmic art are reoccurring themes as he is constantly exploring his own mystical world of dreams and realities.

      Live models are used in most of  Yale's paintings.  He transforms them into mythological or metaphysical characters, or superimposes and dissolves them into abstracted forms.   He is always trying to put more into the work than just what the eye may see in this dimension.  Yale captures the light and energy of the human form with masterful works of art that combine nature and all its mysteries in a timeless fashion.   It's a dual reality of creating illusions of both the seen and unseen worlds, that stimulate our emotions and stir our dreams.

     More of  Yale's clients prefer to have their dreams and fantasies painted than commission a realistic portrait.

     It's the inner action of fantasy and combining dreams to create other worlds that stimulates Yale's imagination and inspires him to keep experimenting and growing as an artist.

       Welcome to the imagination and art of James Yale