We were invited to the home warming celebration this weekend at The Campbells Hub in Daventry. There was mention of an art gallery and museum, so we keenly joined the party.
The Hub consists of Campbells Estate Agents and The Paul James Museum Art Gallery above. The idea manifested through the combined love of art and the need to create a sanctuary space above.
Before showing us up to the Gallery, the welcoming committee, Customer Relationship Manager, Donna, made introductions to Adega Wine Cellar, based in Long Buckby who are running a competition at this weekends event. Very good wine by the way! Also present were Twinings Home Fragrance, provider of beautiful homewares as seen in Vogue and Tatler.
Donna explained, that the whole team moved to the new hub in Drayton Fields, as it provided the perfect space for an Estate Agent. A fittingly alternative solution to a more spacious environment and better for the property client trying to battle with inner town parking. After all, much of the property search these days is done online.
What awaits you here, is a different approach. The ground floor supports the office staff without the hard sell frontage of your normal agent, and without the distraction of the catalogue of sale cluttering the windows. Different indeed.
We were escorted to the Paul James Art Gallery on the first floor, and immediately, that New York Loft feel hits you. A significant amount of time has been taken to get the right ambience.
Not only is the studio inviting, but it pulls you in with colour and wonder, and gives you a calming hug. It's the sort of place that you can imagine sitting either reading the latest James Patterson, or sitting with the perfect coffee doing a bit of work on the laptop. The artwork, a glancing distraction.
A highly polished piano placed strategically, introduces a fun element. Here is someone who likes elegance, embraces people and loves entertaining.
An accomplished progressive artist, Paul James is as unapologetic as he is charismatic. He exhibits in the UK, Ireland and the US, showing classic, contemporary and urban graffiti art. A delicious mix or cool landscapes, heady clouds encompassing cows and then, just to throw you, anarchist gorillas!
Art is personal, and we are always told subjective. But, here you are, presented with original paintings asking you to think about your surroundings.
Sustainable messages, anarchist, and perhaps activist messages.
With so much detail in his work, the huge canvasses draw you in, with hidden messages encouraging you to look deeper into the piece. The hairs stood up on my neck when trying to get my head around how the artist can ever finally say that he'd finished a painting. I can hear his mind whirring, 'Just another message, or battery, to add to the foreground of this one, then I'm done'.
Born in Leicestershire, now living in Ireland, Paul James started off painting mechanical subjects, vintage cars and aircraft, before venturing into live subjects.
He's a musical chap, plays the piano, hence the beautiful object pride of place in the gallery. Music was a diverging career for him at one point, but he came back to the art.
Be glad that he did.
From his world travels and vast experience, Paul has not only gathered momentum, but a grace and intelligence in his work. He is someone that you need to watch and study how he captures his subject, how he gets the facial expression so exacting, those eyes to twinkle, that bit of hair so refined.
It must be a spectacle.
I'm coming back another time just to sit. To admire the latest pieces.
The aim, is to have more artists exhibit in the space, to renew and refresh it.
Making it a continually moving feast for the eyes.
Viewings can be arranged by appointment at the hub, where a friendly team await. Alternatively, the gallery at The Heart of the Shires currently holds pieces.
@pauljamesgallery
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