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James Chisholm, Reflections: ocean waves, inland streams

James Chisholm painting
'James Chisholm, Reflections: ocean waves, inland streams' features works from the artist’s en plein air outings in Topsfield, MA; Boxford; and east Gloucester’s rocky coast.
11/20/2017

Wednesday, November 15 – Thursday, February 8, 2018
Carol Grillo Gallery at Endicott College, 376 Hale Street, Beverly, MA

Gallery Hours:
November 15 – December 14: Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 2 – 4 p.m.
December 14 – February 8: Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., no weekend or evening hours.
Galleries are closed November 22 – 26, December 22 – January 3, and January 15.

Artist Talk and Reception
Tuesday, November 28
4:30 p.m. Gallery Talk in the Carol Grillo Gallery
5:00 p.m. Reception
Free and Open to the public.

James Chisholm is a master of color, light, texture, and form. Reflections: ocean waves, inland streams shows his ability to capture the landscape in a particular moment that is rich with all the light, sensations, depth of field, and movement contained within. Much of his process involves working en plein air in all varieties of weather. Chisholm welcomes the impact of these conditions on the watercolor sheet, where extreme cold, heat and moisture such as rain and snow leave traces on the painting itself that, in turn, become part of the work.

Mr. Chisholm’s says about his work, “I prefer to paint the landscape on site. Once a specific place is decided on, I visit the area and make a few specific studies. From these I select the most interesting one on an intuitive basis. The same approach is used for selecting the size of the canvas or paper. I then start off and continue until I feel the painting has coalesced to completion; a moment the painting seems to be right. Then it’s done. All of the above requires knowledge of painting technique, and lots of experience.”

The exhibition Reflections: ocean waves, inland streams includes works from his en plein air outings at Ipswich River, Garden Street, Cross Street Cornfield, and Summer Street, all located in Topsfield, MA; Millbrook Pond in Boxford; and four large india ink studies from east Gloucester’s rocky coast. A small collection of watercolors and pen and ink drawings of North Shore “scapes” are also included.

Jim Chisholm started his college career at Northeastern University in Boston and majored in Industrial Relations, then transferring to, and graduating from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. He then completed his Master of Science in Art Education from Massachusetts College of Art. Mr. Chisholm’s work can be found in the collections at Harvard University’s Grossman Library, North Shore Community College, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Jim has over 38 years of teaching experience which include the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard University Extension, North Shore Community College, and Endicott College.