James Paterson ( b.1957) was born in Saskatchewan and grew up in the Kensington Market area of Toronto. He received a BFA from the University of Waterloo and taught art at the elementary and high school levels before leaving teaching to pursue art full time.

Paterson works in many mediums and styles using visual language in its many forms and subtleties to communicate his ideas to people. He likes to probe beyond the shell of order and normalcy to find deeper meanings hidden in the shadows, which emerge when we stop to ponder them. “I like to think of what I do as giving expression to mystery.”

Recently, James has completed a series of illustrations, one-hundred and eight, in total, for the gospel reading of each week for the Revised Common Lectionary cycles A and B. In these paintings he aims to give contemporary visual substance to the stories of the gospels, and challenge the viewer to enter into the life of Jesus personally.

James has participated in, group and solo shows since the late 1980s in Canada and internationally. He, his wife and four children have lived on Bronte Rd. in Oakville, where their rather whimsical house and front yard has been a local landmark. As of August 2008 they will be living in Kandern, Germany for a time.