Brief Bio

Landscape and still-life painter James Chillington appreciates the diversity of nature.  His plein air paintings explore the ever-changing environment around him.  Layering oil paint thickly on the canvas with his palette knife, he records his unique perception and experience of a scene.

Chillington’s award-winning paintings have been exhibited at venues throughout Connecticut, including The Virginia Barrett Gallery (Greenwich, CT), Silvermine Guild Arts Center (New Canaan, CT) and Rowayton Arts Center (Rowayton, CT), Darien Art & Frame (Darien, CT), Darien Historical Society (Darien, CT), America's Best Auctioneer, Inc. (Stamford, CT). His work has been included in several public and private collections, and he was included in the 16th Shanghi Art Fair in 2012. Chillington has studied art at the University of Connecticut, Silvermine School of Art (New Canaan, CT) and the Carving Studio (West Rutland, VT).  He currently lives and works in Newtown, CT.

Artist Statement

I was first inspired to paint after a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Impressionist Galleries.  Although I was a youth when I first saw them, the works of Van Gogh, Sargent and Monet continue to have a strong influence on me today.

When I set out to create a plein air painting, I decide upon a location, set up my paints, quiet my mind, and commune with my surroundings.  All the while my energy becomes more focused.  I begin a spontaneous sketch, allowing my intuition to take over.  I continue to make marks based on what I observe as well as what I feel.  I compensate for the shifts in sunlight, the movement of leaves, the spread of shadows and other countless changes that occur naturally in a scene.  When I finish, I know my painting is complete when my canvas and the scene I’ve painted convey the same feeling of balance and mood.