James Alison by Jennifer Gilbert

In this interview, James Alison chats with Jennifer Gilbert about his monochrome drawings that featured in her Monochromatic Minds exhibition in London, 2020.

James Alison has been attending Garvald Edinburgh since 1992 working in the art studio, alongside the drama workshop and puppetry workshop. His extraordinary linear style wanders into its own realm, building fantastical places and animals.

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Jennifer Gilbert: Hello I’m Jennifer and today I am chatting with James Alison who attends Garvald Edinburgh.

James Alison: Hiya. I’m calling you from Longstone in Edinburgh.

Jennifer: Fabulous. James do you want to tell us how long you’ve been going to Garvald?

James: Yes, I’ve been going to Garvald for 25 years.

Jennifer: That’s such a long time. And what do you do at Garvald?

James: I do some art with Morven and I do some puppetry with Jasmine as well. And I also do drama with Emily.

Jennifer: Wow great. I thought we would start with you talking us through how you start your work, is that okay?

James: Yes. When I draw I first get a piece of paper and I draw lines. I draw what I think in my head. You can draw whatever you want to do. I look at photographs. Photos help me design my picture. Photos show me details that I might not have in my mind. I work from my head and my imagination and looking at pictures. I use both and join them up. I do different marks to fill in the spaces and patterns. I do dots, and stripes, and lines and circles. I like drawing animals and people. I use different size of pens - big pens and small pens.

Jennifer: I like that you use photos, but then mix them up with things from your imagination too. Great. And what do you like about drawing?

James: I like drawing because it keeps me occupied and busy. And it’s good to draw. It is interesting. Other people can be interested in drawings too. It feels alright to draw. It feels fine. When I draw I feel more relaxed. And it’s comfortable. I concentrate on what I am doing. I am just thinking about how I am doing it. I am thinking how the picture makes a story.

Jennifer: How wonderful. Many of your drawings feature birds, and I have a couple of them myself in my home that are beautiful. Can you tell us why you like to draw birds so often?

James: I choose to draw birds because I like wildlife. I watch Springwatch - a TV programme about wildlife that is on every year. I like all the different kinds of birds. I like the way they fly. They dive for fish, and how they catch them with their claws and pick fish up from the water. Golden eagles are rare in Scotland. But there are more than in England.

Jennifer: How interesting, I didn’t know that James. And how do you feel when you see your work in exhibitions like the one you traveled to in London in the photo?

James: I like to have work in exhibitions. It makes me feel happy and excited. It is great. I love people to come to exhibitions and see my work and see what they say about it. It is good to see my drawings on the walls and it makes me want to draw more.

Jennifer: That’s great to hear. So my last question is, why is art so important to you?

James: Why art is important to me? Right. I can answer that. Art is very interesting to me. It makes me feel very comfortable doing all the drawings. And that’s why I’m so famous at the moment! I’m a famous artist at the moment!

Jennifer: Oh I am pleased! Thank you for chatting today James.

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Banner image is a detail of James Alison, A stork having a good time flying, 2019.

Below you can watch the zoom recording of the interview. Originally published on the Jennifer Lauren Gallery website, 2020.