The Golden Scroll of Honour

Counting down my finest works at No. 77  are the two Letters Patent I painted for the Cities of Chelmsford and Armagh.

Counting down my finest works No. 78  is Margaret Thatcher Infirmary wing of the Royal Hospital Chelsea In 2009 I was commissioned to produce a Donor Panel of those who contributed to the building of the new Margaret Thatcher Infirmary wing of the hospital.  Because of the scale of the piece which needed to balance a portrait of  Mrs Thatcher it soon became apparent that I would have to approach the project in a different way because skins of vellum only come in a maximum size.  I decided to do separate panels that came together in a cohesive way but yet were pieces of art in their own right. It was very well received by the Hospital.  In fact, the patron actually suggested they pay me extra for the work I of course declined because the hospital is there to look after old soldiers

The Duke of Burgundy Finally another piece owned by a collector and friend Philip Pille in Belgium

I also wanted to include two similar pieces the first is also being offered as prints through my friends at Reed Fine Art in New Hampshire.

I did not really realise how good this piece was until Dr. Phil Stone, president of the Society came to my home with the official prints the Society offers. My wife arranged for a reporter from the Blackmore Vale to meet us that day. The interview can be found on my press page. 

I wrote to Lord Howard the day before yesterday and he was happy for me to show this particular piece and another which will appear further on in the list. 

I wanted to include at least one of my black and white line drawings.  This one appeared in the book, 'Diana Princess of Wales' and the original is now at Althorp, the Spencer family home.

Although David has a large collection of my work I have always liked the crest I painted of his coat of arms showing St. Edward the Confessor.  

I have painted this subject before, many years ago but in a Georgia O'Keefe moment I burned it. This version was begun in 2009 but abandoned until 2012 when I finally completed it.  Again, focusing on myth and legend.  James

I painted this in 2013.  I was at my home in Virginia and it was a very cold and snowy winter.  I have always loved fairy tales, myths, legends and that child like sense of magic.  This painting grew from those experiences. 

When I announced I was redirecting my primary focus to fine art the majority of the heraldry patrons simply wished me well but a small minority decided to make the journey with me and add fine art to their collections as well.  I quickly realised that it wasn't simply the heraldry that was keeping them around but they had come to care about me not only as an artist but as a person.  Some of them are not famous, royal or noble by birth.  They are friends which I hold in the highest regard.  Here are four friends my wife and I now consider family who have large collections of my work consisting of both heraldry and fine art.  Lawrence Lewis de Fordham This work was painted for an exhibition in Ottawa, Canada in 1996 at that time I was experimenting with abstract applications of pattern in conjunction with formal heraldry style.  I have always liked this piece and it hung in my studio but when I changed the studio over to fine art I decided to sell it to Lawrence.  

This painting was presented to His Holiness Pope John Paul II by Cardinal Jacques Martin and Peter Bander van Duren.  His Holiness instructed that it go to his homeland, Poland to be enjoyed by his compatriots. It now hangs in a monastery.

This illuminated painting was presented to Fra Matthew Festing the 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta   at an ceremony in London by Henry Norreys of the British Association of the Order.

Due to privacy concerns many projects could not be included on this countdown but Francis is a very public individual.  He is the subject of several television documentaries which can be found on the web.  A few years ago I received a commission from Francis having been recommended by Lord Henry Norreys.  Henry had told him that I was one of the best so the pressure was on.  I spent some time with Francis at his home which was thoroughly enjoyable and found him to be one of life's wonderful characters.

Counting down my finest works No. 91 is the presentation scroll for Archbishop Desmond Tutu Here is Desmond Tutu along with the artwork I painted for him.  Another great honour that boggles this South London boy's mind.

Counting down my finest works No. 42 is the painting of the arms of General Colin Powell My good friend the late Peter Drummond-Murray asked me to take on this commission which I greatly enjoyed.

Presented at an American Scottish event.   Below is a photo of Prince Edward receiving my painting.   

Unfortunately like so much of my work, I cannot show the document I painted for Princess Michael whilst I was Herald Painter to the British Association of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta.  However, I can show the library painting I painted for her home which is based on the arms I painted on the document. She is a very gracious, elegant and strong lady. I wanted to reflect these traits in her shield of arms. Princess Michael later helped me with a project that was very close to my heart for which I remain extremely grateful.   

Counting down my finest works No. 95 is the presentation scroll I painted for Francesco Ayala  which was presented to him at Buckingham Palace by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.  It is fascinating to me to see where my art ends up.  Growing up and pursuing this career I never imagined that it would find it's way into Buckingham Palace and be presented by the Duke of Edinburgh. 

I have painted works for many famous people but of all of them I think the Dalai Lama must hold a special place and I am sure those other famous people will agree.  He has that special quality of humility, spirituality and positivity which inspires many people.  I wanted the scroll seen below to reflect that. The event was widely publicised but on the countdown I just wanted to focus on the art work itself.

This piece of work probably had to be one of the most nerve wracking of my career.  I was blessed to do some work for Queen Elizabeth.  I thought that the first piece they would ask me to do would be low key.  In fact I was asked to produce the Letters Patent granting Prince William his three titles including the one William and Catherine would later become so well known for, the Dukedom of Cambridge.  I knew the Queen would be signing it in her customary spot in the upper right hand corner and that she has an incredible eye for detail which can only add to one's anxiety.  This document had to be flawless and contain all the knowledge and skill I had achieved in decades working as a professional artist.  The Queen has a great sense of humour and so I had some fun in one of the decorative borders by showing the dragon of Wales hovering and rescuing the lion of England a tongue in cheek reference to William's career.  She thanked me by inviting my wife and I to a garden party.

I met Sir Paul in the 1990's.  He had a very relaxed nature. On my visits to his homes we sat and watched cricket and talked about knights and chivalry.  Sir Paul loved cricket but so too did he love art and books.  His collection of medieval illuminated books was as good as anything housed in the major museums.  He also loved Pre-Raphaelite paintings and had a wonderful first edition of the Kelmscott Chaucer produced by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.  

The famous rock legend Ian Anderson photographed here at Madison Square Gardens looking every bit the Scottish bard! He told me I was hired due to the fact that whilst looking through Carl Alexander von Volborth's book, 'The Art of Heraldry' he liked not only my name but that I was, 'still alive'. By that he meant I was one of the youngest artists featured in book. He also liked my asymmetric style. I have included this because to me it was such a fun commission and it is not everyday you get to hang out with a rock star legend.  

This is a difficult thing to do because I have painted hundreds upon hundreds of coats of arms, calligraphic and illuminated manuscripts, scrolls and royal letters patent thus far.   How do you choose ?  After careful consideration I have chosen these works as truly representative of this branch of my art. When confronted with the art I have on record I cannot believe there have been enough hours in the day to have produced it. Plus of course there is the art I did for patrons who asked me not to share for privacy reasons, some of which was quite spectacular.  So to begin with let us start with the coat of arms of the late Prince Rupert Loewenstein. A very interesting patron who was for many years was the financial advisor to the Rolling Stones. He was a member of Order of Malta and that is how he approached me through a mutual friend, also a Knight of Malta, the late Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick. At that time I was Herald Painter to the British Association of the Order