a little bit About Me
I am a very proud Cornishman, with a passion for my incredible county and all the wonderful views and scenes within it that we are blessed with on a day to day basis.
My other passion is a love of classic yachts formed from my early work of the Falmouth Working Boats which then turned into a love of the world’s biggest and most beautiful Classic Yachts including the magnificent J-Class and predominantly anything gaff rigged!
My simple aim is to produce happy clients!
My photo-realistic style is a result of my training in illustration at Falmouth School of Art and Design and subsequent career in London and Australia.
Since returning home to my beloved Cornwall, my time painting is split between these two favourite subjects – Cornish Seascapes and Yachting.
With the main part of my course being technical illustration, this has given me the skills, knowledge and accuracy needed to depict every element of a yacht and a scene to within fractions of millimetres. A level of accuracy unrivalled in the maritime art world at present and something that resonates with sailors who can be notoriously ‘particular’ about anything related to their beloved yachts.
Original Yacht paintings · Christie’s, London
I now have forty years experience in maritime art. I have auctioned my yachting paintings at Christie’s auction house in London since 2006 with continued sales to some of the biggest collectors of marine art in the world & this has led to a portfolio of very high profile commissions for royalty, rockstars, yacht & super yacht owners & a host of high end publications featuring my work.
Falmouth School of Art & Design
Trained in illustration; technical illustration became the backbone of his accuracy.
Illustration career, London & Australia
Ads, packaging and book covers incl. "The Railway Children" & "Call of the Wild".
Home to Cornwall
Resumed painting the Falmouth Working Boats — and never really stopped.
Jubilee Regatta, Cowes
Tim Thompson's invitation; the classic yachts changed his path forever.
First Christie's auction
Maritime sales in London — the start of a worldwide collector following.
‘Return of the J-Class’ record
2nd most expensive work ever sold at auction by a living marine artist.
Nuances of Light retrospective
Falmouth Art Gallery, 7,500+ visitors, hung beside Tuke & Hemy.
RSMA full Member
Elected in full; won the Winsor & Newton Prize for A Notable Oil Painting.
2024 · RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION
Nuances of Light
In 2024 I was absolutely thrilled to have been offered a three month retrospective exhibition in my now home town at Falmouth Art Gallery – I had to call it Nuances of light . .
The exhibition celebrated the rich tradition of maritime painting in Falmouth and included some guest works including examples by Henry Scott Tuke & Charles Napier Hemy.
It had over 7500 visitors over the duration, but the highlight for me was having my work hung on the same wall as these legendary Falmouth artists. Humbled doesn’t even come close . .
2023-2025 · RSMA
Royal Society of marine artists
In 2023 I was incredibly honoured to be voted in as an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA), before being elected as a full member in 2025 and subsequently winning the Winsor & Newton Prize for ‘A Notable Oil Painting’ in the RSMA annual exhibition in the same year.
Joining the RSMA is a long process that requires many years of submissions to prove continuity and commitment. There are only 72 full members worldwide, so incredibly flattered to have been voted in by the panel and to be exhibiting alongside many artists whose work I have admired for many years.
Looking forward immensely to exhibiting with them each year for their annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London.
Three subjects, one obsession with light
I've always been drawn towards three main subjects with my work.
The classics and the great regattas - a lifelong love of anything gaff rigged.
A love of yachting which started with the Falmouth Working Boats and led me to paint the world’s most well known Classic yachts & J-Class. From dinghies to super yachts and anything in between.
Light hitting the sail and particularly topsails of a Falmouth working boat or classic yacht is a sight I’ll never tire of . . .
The plethora of effects of light through & on sails gives an abundance of pleasing reference material.
The coastline and Cornish seascapes I’ve always painted - and now my focus.
From tranquil creeks & inlets to the rugged Cornish cliffs & breathtaking clifftop views (and everything in between) - Cornwall has it all . . .
The varying moods created by the light, depending on time of day, weather & season give us an infinite supply of stunning reference. Nature gives us so many incredible lighting effects; when you combine this with the beauty of the Cornish coastline - the resulting scenes are unquestionably stunning. My goal is to capture as many of these scenes in oil paint as I can . . .
The local nature my parents introduced me to, and a lifetime of exploring it.
A love of nature which started with the local wildlife my parents showed me as a child and has grown through a lifetime of walking the Cornish coast & countryside.
Light on feather, fur & water brings its own wonderful challenges - and nature never stops providing stunning reference. My goal is to do these incredible subjects justice in oil paint . . .
Delve a little deeper
My work spans two worlds: the classic yachts I’ve followed for decades, and the Cornish coast on my doorstep. Here’s the story behind each.
Four decades capturing the grace of the world’s classic yachts, from the mighty J-Class to the elegant 19-Metres. It’s the story of how a Cornish upbringing grew into a lifelong passion for the golden age of sail, and the regattas I’ve followed around the world. →
Finding inspiration along Cornwall’s rugged coastline, from sheltered creeks to the shifting Atlantic light. These are the scenes on my doorstep that I return to time and again, and the reason they still capture my imagination in oil paint. →
Get to know me a bit better through a couple of recent interviews . . .
An interview after being elected a full member →
On-the-can label collaboration & making art →
The full background story
Read the full story
I grew up at Bissom, a little & lovely council estate between Penryn and Mylor. Having the countryside on my doorstep led to an appreciation and love of nature from an early age. My parents instilled their knowledge of local wildlife and I spent much time exploring. This was the start of my fascination and understanding of light and the endless effects it can play on subject matter.
I started to draw the wildlife and was never without a pencil in hand, so the obvious step was to follow art at school. My art teacher, Mr Williams, recognised my passion and gave me endless encouragement. I went on to study Illustration at Falmouth School of Art & Design and this is the basis and knowledge behind my career.
The Technical Illustration element of the course has given me the knowledge & skills to produce paintings with the detail & accuracy that are the core of my yachting paintings today & this resonates with sailors who know every inch of their beloved craft.
Whilst I was at college my dad introduced me to a friend of his, Tony Warren, a popular local artist who painted the Falmouth working boats. Tony gave me my first lessons in watercolours as well as brushes, paper, photos as reference material and much advice. The resulting paintings helped me earn some money to get me through college & started my love affair with the stunning Falmouth Working Boats.
In 1990 I took the natural step of moving to London to follow my illustration career. I worked for advertising and publishing clients and produced work for most of the high street names, the main advertising agencies and the big publishing houses, producing national press ad’s, packaging illustration and several book front covers including ‘The Railway Children’ & Jack London’s ‘Call of the wild’ to name a couple.
In 1997 I re-located back to my beloved Cornwall – HOME!
I resumed my paintings of the working boats while I decided my next move but they created such a following I never stopped!
In 1998, just by chance, I happened to meet one of the world’s best marine artists, Tim Thompson. His passion for classic yachts, and a two hour lesson on how to use oil paints, changed my life.
He then very kindly invited me to join him for the Jubilee Regatta in Cowes in 2001 and the stunning array of yachts I witnessed changed my career path. Tim encouraged me to approach Christie’s in London and submit my paintings to their maritime auctions. It took me several years to build up the confidence to do this, but Christie’s accepted my work and the auctions were a huge success.
The exposure brought me a worldwide following of marine art collectors and led to commissions from owners of the classic and J-Class yachts I was depicting. In November 2012, my ‘Return of the J-Class’ painting set a new record for one of my works and became the second most expensive painting ever sold at auction by a living marine artist; something I’m immensely proud of.
The work I produced caught the eye of a local businessman and sailor Jonathan Money. He gave me some fantastic advice and proved to be a very influential and supportive figure, inviting me to regattas and introducing me to many clients and giving invaluable knowledge of the yachts and race circuits.
A few years later when I was approached about a commission, I made the surprise discovery that there was a particular person behind a lot of my early sales at Christie’s – His Royal Highness, The Aga Khan. When asked by Babcock Marine, whilst building his super yacht Alamshar, which artist he would like to paint it – he chose me! That’s when I found it was him buying my paintings from Christie’s to furnish his yacht club in Sardinia – The Costa Smeralda.
I’ve always been drawn towards three main subjects with my work – yachting, wildlife and Cornwall!
When Covid affected regattas and the maritime auctions, I took the natural step of concentrating on my Cornish scenic work. I get immense pleasure from replicating the scenes we see on a day-to-day basis and all the varying places and moods that our stunning county provides on an infinite scale. When you look at my portfolio it’s evident I’m drawn towards the effect of light, the atmosphere it creates and the feelings it evokes. My true passion I suppose – the nuances of light . . .
In 2024 I was absolutely thrilled to have been offered a retrospective exhibition in my now home town at Falmouth Art Gallery and it had to be called ‘Nuances of light . . . ‘
FAG said . .
“The exhibition celebrates Jamie’s career to date and highlights the rich tradition of maritime painting in Falmouth”.
The show had 7500+ visitors over the duration, but the highlight for me was having my work hung on the same wall as guest artworks by the legendary Falmouth artists Henry Scott Tuke & Charles Napier Hemy. One of the proudest moments of my career . . .
In 2023 I was incredibly honoured to be voted in as an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA), before being elected as a full member in 2025 and subsequently winning the Winsor & Newton Prize for ‘A Notable Oil Painting’ in the RSMA annual exhibition in the same year.
Joining the RSMA is a long process that requires many years of submissions to prove continuity and commitment. There are only 72 full members worldwide, so incredibly flattered to have been voted in by the panel and to be exhibiting alongside many artists whose work I have admired for many years.
On a local level, I sell my original artworks through Fowey River Gallery & Lighthouse Gallery in Penzance.
I sell a huge range of my limited edition Cornish Seascape prints through this website and at various outlets including Fowey River Gallery, Norway Inn, Trebah Gardens, Bedruthan Hotel, Pizza Express Falmouth and The Old Quay Inn in Devoran among many others across Cornwall . . .