James McQueen

The history and stories which books posses, not just within their pages, but from the numerous multitude of different owners, who have lovingly passed them to friends and loved ones throughout the years. McQueen explains: "A book that has been passed down has had a life. Where has it been? Where has it travelled? Everyone who owns it has put their little stamp on it, like a tea mark, pencil scribbles, or folded page corners."

McQueen takes a humorous view of the popular artists in the current market. He has combined the iconic symbols of artists such as Banksy with popular imagery from Harland Miller’s satirical paintings of reimagined Penguin books. McQueen has created a collection of high quality and original pieces on canvas.

James McQueen talks fondly of his influences from his grandfather, who had a huge collection of Penguin books, which he was fascinated by as a child. McQueen's grandfather would often read them to him but James was more interested in their aesthetic.

His stylistic influences are apparent throughout his work: particularly the work of Harland Miller . He also draws on influences from Mark Rothko's colour field painting, which applies to large areas of flat single colour. This shows in the faded layers of paint in McQueen's work. Creating art to escape into, like you wood a good book.

James McQueen started his own Penguin book collection as an adult and decided he wanted to own a life size canvas version. Having no desire to buy one, he decided to create his own. McQueen painted one to begin with, then a neighbour expressed an interest and friends soon began asking too. 

Planning and painting the books soon became the artist's passion and McQueen drew visual inspiration from his personal collection of 300 Penguin books. Gleaning great pleasure from re-working the old classic Penguin covers.  The care and attention that goes into each piece is obvious to the eye immediately. Each finished piece is painted to reflect the age of the books. McQueen uses many weeks of oil-painted layers, which are then sanded down to create an amazing patina, and finished with lacquer. This technique of working gives the artwork a truly authentic vintage feel.