James Pollock

About:

James Pollock has been drawing and painting for as long as he can remember. He was born and raised on a farm-ranch on the Great Plains of South Dakota, USA. His home town, (Pollock, South Dakota) was named after his great grandfather.
Following graduation from South Dakota State University, Pollock entered the U.S. Army. While in the army, Pollock was chosen from army-wide competition for assignment to the U.S. Army’s Vietnam Combat Artist Program. Art works completed during this assignment to five man Combat Artist Team IV are in the U.S. Army Center of Military History permanent War Art Collection in Washington, D.C.
Pollock has exhibited in many group and one person shows. His work can be found in many private and corporate collections throughout the U.S. Pollock designed the first issue South Dakota Bison gold and silver pieces which were sold in the national and international gold and silver marketplace. Pollock has served on the South Dakota Arts Council and was named South Dakota Artist of the Year the first year the award was given.

Mediums: Oil, Watercolor

“I do quite a bit of experimenting. If one were to casually flip through samples of my work one might conclude from the variations of styles and subjects that it is the work of more than one artist. Not so. Some of my images are the result of the study of nature. Some images are derived from the realm of the subjective imagination rather than being based on literal interpretations of nature. Ideas for my art can come from almost anywhere–nature, history, emotions, other people, books and sounds. Any stimulus that leaves an impression on my conscious or unconscious mind is a potential source for an idea. I cannot always pinpoint exactly where these intuitive ideas come from. Sometimes ideas present themselves in my mind at other times I develop images by roaming spontaneously over paper with pen and ink. I usually work quite small when using the intuitive method of idea development. I draw impulsively and have literally thousands of these intuitive beginning sketches. For me these original idea sketches are very important. The initial sketch is the point which the creative impulse is most active. Regardless of the methods used, I am continually ask myself if there is another way expressing this idea.“

–James Pollock