Before my visit to Shetland in the summer of 2008, I stumbled upon the website of artist, Jim Tait. Jim is unusual in that he is a Shetland artist with a website, the Tait Gallery . I was highly impressed by the photo-realistic images Jim manages to capture in his seascapes and arranged a meeting.
Once you meet Jim and view his paintings, his modesty might very well amuse. I had to smile at the guarantee on his website 'If you are dissatisfied with your painting, please let me know within a week of receipt, and return it to me in good condition for a full refund' I never asked if he has ever had any paintings returned.
James Tait was born in Baltasound, Shetland in 1948. He attended art college, but found the process unsuited to his needs - so he left. Jim then attended university to study law, left before completing his studies and a varied subsequent career ensued. Jim now lives in Lerwick, doing what he is so obviously meant to do - marine art. Jim Tait's astrological sign is cancer, the least predictable of all the signs. Cancerians are ruled by the moon and have water as their element, which is obvious in Jim's life and work. He even positions his chair to allow an unrestricted view of the sea from his Shetland home. The three main loves he mentions are: oil painting, sea and ships. The Shetland Islands are framed by the North Atlantic on the west and the North Sea on the right. The coast and views differ wildly and Jim faces the North Sea.
Jim dislikes being asked for his inspiration as he finds the term too lofty. If he has anything similar to inspiration he says, it must be the changing seas and skies of Shetland. Jim's favourite artist is the Belgian Surrealist, Paul Delvaux 1897--1994. There were no similarities, as far as could be seen during our meeting. I later read that Marc Rombaut has written of Delvaux '...he always maintained an intimate and privileged relationship to his childhood, which is the underlying motivation for his work and always manages to surface there. This childhood, existing within him, led him to the poetic dimension in art'; this quote certainly strikes a chord. Delvaux was famous for his female nude compositions, skeletons, and architecture. The absurdity of Delvaux' work seems to be the antithesis of Tait's work. The yin to Tait's yang gritty masculine realism reflected in his work. Jim also admired the work of Cezanne, van der Weyden and Fuseli and definitely admires many local artists and, if they are not inspiration, they were certainly encouragement.
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