James Ainslie was born in South Australia in 1950, graduated in art from the South Australian School of Art and has exhibited throughout Australia and overseas since 1975.
Harking back to his childhood in South Australia, spent playing around the Coorong and exploring the huge sand tracks around the Murray River, sand and water have always inspired his work. Now living in Noosa, he has turned his attention to the undulating dunes of Fraser Island and the many beaches along the Sunshine Coast shoreline. Annual visits to Broome ensure that Kakadu and The Kimberley remain strong influences in his work. Ainslie has regularly been an artist in residence at Ayers Rock, and has been invited to represent South Australia in London, and at the Museum of Fine Art in Pasadena, USA.
Ainslie’s preferred palette is acrylic paint on paper, with the occasional use of mixed media. His forte is modern realism, although he also produces abstract art. Ainslie’s paintings resonate with an inherent passion for the country’s unique beauty, particularly the sandy dunes and reflective waters of Queensland and South Australia.
James won the prestigious Camberwell Flora & Fauna Prize in 1990 and was co-winner of the Barossa Valley Heritage Award. His work is featured in prestigious collections such as Artbank; BP Australia; Reserve Bank of Australia; Mobil Australia; William Hancock collection, San Francisco; Banker’s Trust; Diamond Merchants, South Africa; and many public and private collections worldwide.