Biography

James Langley is an contemporary classicist working at the intersection of the human figure with narrative, allegorical, and historical content in still life, landscape, portraiture, and figurative painting. His work, both sacred and profane, is imbued with a timeless but fresh perspective. He is available for commissions tailored to the customs, tastes, and usage of individual clients.

Langley's work includes architectural ornament for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a triptych for Opus Dei, and a monumental altarpiece for Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary. His work has exhibited in the United States, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Finland, and Portugal.

Langley currently lives with his family in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Manifesto

Art is a path to discover a bit of heaven on earth.

I AM AN ARTIST who believes that contemporary paintings should have integrity, meaning they are to be durable, meaningful, and suffused with beauty.

DURABILITY is the first criterion for integrity, and is achieved first of all by using archival materials so that structural stability and permanence are integral to the work.

MEANING implies clarity and coherence of content, and stems from the synthesis of composition with subject matter and its adaptation to the intended setting of the work.

BEAUTY is experienced as an effervescence flowing over from the marriage of the physicality of the paint medium with the inscape of the subject.

MY APPROACH TO PAINTING is steeped in the classical visual language of narrative and decorative painting to embody: clarity, harmony, and radiance. This creative discipline enables me to respond to the complexity of the human story with simplicity, and to lend integrity and form to the pictorial aspirations of my clients.

Contact

James Langley - Artist

Langley Art Studio, LLC

email: james@jameslangley.com

telephone: 912-667-7683

Instagram @langley.artgram

Ab Ovo Celadonite Aqueous Dispersion by Rublev Colours with Graphite and red Conte crayon on white Khadi handmade cotton rag paper, A3 16x12 inches (approximately) With appreciation for the model Hana @figuredrawingreference #jameslangleyartist #
Losing electric power in the studio meant no light, no heat and no hot water. Moreover there was rent to pay for a roof dripping incessantly with the Autumn rains. Thankfully, I had phone service and when I took the call I recognized a voice from yea
Suite of Eight short pose figure drawings in red chalk on white paper with pigment ground, 24”x18” Available for purchase #jameslangleyartist #drawingsuite #drawingcollector #figurativedrawings #gesturalabstraction #gesturedrawings #man
Alex supplies the short poses to awaken the senses in red chalk on white strathmore paper toned with raw siena pigment 24”x18” #lifedraw #lifedrawinglive #wakeupandworkout #slaytheday #siezethemoment #carpediembelvedere #jameslangleyart
When the model sleeps my dear blue and white porcelain vase stands tall. Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of silence and slow time, China Vase in Burnt Siena oil on canvas 16”x12” #ode #innamorata #naturem
Variations on pose of a woman standing with senses wide open. Some models embody sensory wakefulness: they are at ease with themselves, feel more balanced emotionally, think more clearly, and experience genuine pleasure in their physical connection
What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. T. S. Eliot Anatomical study in Conte pencil and Italian Earth watercolor wash on white rag paper, 30x22 inches #naturemorte
Closed Couplet "Why rove my thoughts beyond this last retreat? Why feels my heart its long-forgotten heat?" Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard." Figure pairing in sanguine and black Conte crayon with Naples yellow powdered pi
Reclining woman with twist - in charcoal and pigment (raw sienna and naples yellow) on white paper, 18”x24” #langleyart #twistpose #twistposevariation #lifedrawingmodel #charcoaldrawings #colorfieldpainter