James Marnan

James Marnan was born in London in 1962.  He was educated at Bryanston and at the University of Exeter, where he read Law.  He spent some years teaching in a preparatory school and then took several part-time jobs before embarking upon a new career as a freelance painter and cartoonist

Until recently, he lived and worked in Selborne, Hampshire, exhibiting his drawings and watercolour landscapes locally and helping to run the Selborne Gallery.  In June 2015 he moved to South Devon and now lives near Kingsbridge.  A largely self-taught artist, he has been fortunate enough to receive many commissions, both for conventional watercolours and for whimsical, often anachronistic cartoons – his speciality since childhood, when a fascination with old machinery, old cars and everything unusual or eccentric inspired his early flights of imagination on paper.

He exhibits his work where and when he can, though for a number of years he held regular shows at the Gilbert White museum, and took part in group exhibitions with the Hampshire Artists’ Co-operative.

He is always ready to undertake new commissions.