We are delighted to welcome James Graves to exhibit his work in the Mellon Room this July. This exhibit includes his paintings, drawings, and photographs. Read James’s artist bio below:
I was born in Bar Harbor, Maine. I spent my early years on Mount Desert Island living in Northeast Harbor and Bar Harbor. This is where creating art all started for me. I remember always wanting to draw images at a young age. My parents and relatives were very supportive and encouraged me to pursue my passion for being creative.
After graduating from high school, I enlisted in the United States Navy and spent four years as a radioman. I had decided that I would enroll in art school when finished with my military service.
There was a commercial art school in Boston, Massachusetts that I had researched and though would be a good choice. In the fall of 1971, I started classes at Vesper George School of Art. I soon realized that I was about to receive an excellent education. The focus of the instructors and the projects students were given was to produce quality artwork to build the best portfolio you could to show prospective employers. During my third and final year, the Art Directors Club of Boston held a portfolio contest open to all art school students in the city. The best portfolio winner would receive full tuition for that school year. I decided to enter the competition. When the results were announced, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my portfolio of artwork had been chosen for first place.
Since graduating from art school, I have had a diverse and rewarding art career. I have designed and illustrated greeting cards and wrapping paper, created art to be printed on clothing, completed technical illustrations for an aircraft manufacturer, freelanced art for greeting card companies and prepared files and touched up and color corrected photos for a screen printing company.
In addition to my professional career as a commercial artist, I continued to create my own art. After all, it is what I love to do and it makes me feel complete. I enjoy entering my art and my photography into shows and sharing those images with other people to encourage them to create their own art.
James’s work will be on display in the Mellon Room from Saturday, July 1st until Monday, July 31st. The Mellon room is occasionally booked for private use – please call ahead to check availability if you are making a special trip to see the show. For more information about our exhibits, please contact Kate Young at kyoung@nehlibrary.org or 207 276 3333.
