Biographical Information:
James Goodridge began his career in London. Not having had the privilege of a college education and being a self taught artist, James was fortunate in finding established creative directors willing to provide him with the opportunity to realise his potential in the movie poster industry. Massive changes over the following years and the growing dominance of photographic campaigns and Photoshop meant less in illustration work which led James to other advertising and book cover commissions for a number of years.

In 1996 James moved to Los Angeles and continued his illustration career in the movie industry producing art for campaigns too numerous to mention. In 2010 James began painting in oils and started to create images which he wished to see rather than those being commissioned to serve the movie industry. The subjects of The Mexican Revolution and The Buffalo Soldiers were neither being depicted in prestigious art exhibition exhibitions nor in galleries and, as a result, James started an ongoing series of paintings depicting these events and capturing the dignity of those who participated in them.

James continues to work in the movie industry in a number of capacities in pre and post production.

Artist Statement:
For the last 2 years I have been producing paintings on subjects of more personal interest to me. I have been drawn to historical subjects and events which are fascinating to me and hope that these will encourage people to find out more about these “untold” stories. The term “buffalo soldier” is familiar to people but often they don’t know who it refers to. Similarly the Mexican Revolution was an event in which the United States was involved, a conflict which lasted a decade, yet its significance and its pivotal figures seem to be reduced to T-shirts and restaurant names. This event of north American history is 100 years old yet little attention is drawn to it despite the revolutions currently taking place. I wanted to depict the Revolution as it would have been presented had it occurred 50 years earlier, before the birth of the camera. It’s coverage at the time was dominated by the new medium of photography and in a sense I’m bringing a romanticism to these events.

Affiliations:
Pasadena Society of Artists