Artist
and naturalist James Coe has long
been known nationally as an author and illustrator of birdwatchers’
field guides, including his 1994 Golden field guide Eastern
Birds.
During the past decade, however, Jim has turned his attention to
painting landscapes in plein air, and he has found that the skills
that he developed early on for sketching birds (including careful
observation, visual memory, and speed), are equally important when
working in this new setting, where speed and instinct are vital
to capturing the fleeting light and dynamic conditions of nature.
Jim’s plein air landscapes typically feature the farms, hayfields,
and natural settings of New York’s Hudson River Valley and Northern
Catskill region, near to where he lives with his wife and two children.
In coming to Provincetown with the Creative Convergence
project, Jim is particularly excited about returning to his roots.
During his MFA studies at Parson’s School of Design with artist
Paul Resika (a longtime fixture of the Provincetown art scene),
Jim spent a semester living and painting in Provincetown. That
experience provided Jim with his introduction to working in plein
air, and he reveled in the radiant light of the Outer Cape and
its unique dunescapes.
In his studio paintings of the past several years,
Jim has worked to synthesize elements from both of the distinct
genres of ‘wildlife art’ and ‘plein air’ landscape painting. Drawing
upon his ornithological expertise, he integrates birds into his
landscapes, while striving to maintain the freshness of an oil
study. The birds are accurately realized and appropriate to the
scene and season – indeed, the chosen species often is one that
Jim heard or observed while working on location. But the bird is
not simply pasted into the scene for illustrative or narrative
purposes; instead, Jim’s goal is to introduce a subtle element
of movement, color, or interest to the landscape. He hopes to evoke
the poetic quality of birdwatching: that magical moment when bird,
environment, and atmosphere merge into one evocative image.
Jim’s artwork has been featured in Wildlife
Art and Fine Art Connoisseur, and has appeared on the covers of Sanctuary,
Bird Watcher's Digest, Birding World, and The Auk, professional
journal of the American Ornithologist’s Union. His work is in permanent
collections of the New York State Museum, Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum,
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Massachusetts Audubon Society,
and Bennington Center for the Arts.
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