Claerwen Laura James (born October 1970) [1] is a British painter.
James is the daughter of the Australian journalist Clive James and his wife, the scholar Prudence Shaw. [2] James studied zoology at the University of Oxford. [3]
James specialises in portraiture, particularly of young people, painted from photographs rather than live sittings. [4]
James began painting during her undergraduate studies. [5] Following the completion of her academic studies, she decided to revert to her original passion for art [6] and between 1999 and 2003 enrolled on a painting course at the Slade School of Art. [6] Graduating in 2003, James gained a first-class degree, and was awarded the Melvill Nettleship Prize for Figure Composition. [7] From 2003 to 2004 she continued her studies at the Prince's Drawing School after obtaining a graduate bursary. [8] Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Scheringa Museum of Realist Art in Spanbroek, Netherlands, [9]
In addition to her paintings, James produces prints, utilising techniques that include block-printing and hand-stencilled silk screening. [10] She is one third of design partnership, Cambridge Imprint, where she has designed decorative patterns for the sleeves for Persephone Books, [11] and collaborated with heritage shoe brand Grenson [12] on a new printed design shoe. [13]