A B O U T

MEGAN JAMES IS A figurative and abstract painter.

Miami born, South Florida based artist and creative director Megan James, creates an ethereal nature-inspired aesthetic through her paintings of scenes like underwater clouds, desert sand and rhythmic ripples in the ocean. Megan expresses a unique language of natural elements through shapes, colors and textures in her collections. Adventures far and near are the fertile ground for inspiration, while her works serve as an invitation to the natural world and an inspiring addition to a contemporary atmosphere. Megan’s work is held in private and public collections across the globe through designer acquisitions, private commissions and most notably Sotheby’s. She has recently launched a print collection with HGTV host and designer Krista Alterman Watterworth and California design company Lulu + Georgia. Megan’s works have been featured in Kinfolk, Like the Wind and Vogue Paris, NYLON, Pure Green Magazine and more.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work explores wild landscapes through large-scale paintings incorporating natural materials. Drawing from an archive of elements - ground Mediterranean minerals, Atlantic shells, Mojave specimens - I create pieces that speak to our profound connection with place. Like cooking, the process demands both precision and intuition - understanding how minerals react with water, how pigments bloom across canvas, how each element brings its own character to the work.

The pieces fall into two complementary series: water works, where layers of indigo and azure capture the meditation of depth and surface; and desert works, which strip nature to its essential forms through earth-toned geometries and mineral textures. This integration of natural elements creates an ongoing dialogue between the constructed world and the wild that shaped us.

“The themes of my work revolve around both the stability and impermanence of the natural world and how it informs and relates to daily life, rituals, composition and time. My works about water explores breath, rhythm, and perspective, while my land based inspired works ask the viewer to delight in the somatic beauty of desert elements like warmth and tactile textures. A provocation to seek what is unknown in the natural world is the through line across all of my pieces.”