murals.

As a Jersey Shore native, Brittany James began painting at Riverview Art School in Island Heights as a child. She graduated from Montclair State University with a BFA degree concentrated in oil painting in 2009. Her paintings are of surreal images, depicting women’s rights and the relationships between women in nature and society.

One of Brittany’s more recent series of paintings, “Women’s Work” focuses on gender stereotypes, inequality, objectification and oppression of women. Her paintings are often inspired by dreams, poetry, and words. Brittany’s latest body of work was inspired by Glennon Doyle’s book Untamed, a memoir that seeks to liberate women from the societal expectations that bind them. She was also inspired by author Jeanette Winterson’s writings about the balance between the wild and the tame.

Brittany often paints bright, whimsical portraits of women surrounded by flowers, but with underlying themes of darkness. She likes to include contrasting imagery that is a mix of delicacy and harshness. She sometimes creates a break in the reality of the painting by using abstract drips of turpentine in the background to give the image a dreamlike quality.

In addition to painting, Brittany teaches art classes for children and teens at Inspired Minds Fine Art School in Lincroft. She also teaches painting and life drawing classes for adults at art629 Gallery in Asbury Park and curates local art exhibitions. She has painted live on stage at the State Theater in New Brunswick, The Vogel in Red Bank, and the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, and was part of a performance art piece during the Summer of Love concert at Count Basie Theater in Red Bank. She also does live paintings for weddings and events. She has been a muralist and featured artist for the Asbury Underground Art & Music Crawl and the Asbury Park City Mural Project, and has shown her work in several galleries in the New York tri-state area.

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Brittany says, “The healing therapy of art- making and self-expression has been very important to me throughout my life, and is something I continue to share with others through painting. I could not be who I am today without the ability and freedom to channel my thoughts onto a canvas. Whether it be through creating or teaching, I want to continue to make an impact on others lives through art. That makes me feel like I am doing my job as an artist.”