”James Tughan’s artwork can be appreciated by everyone from the visually illiterate to the most sophisticate aesthete. The subtlety of design and sumptuous execution seduces the eye and then the mind. His artwork dignifies and elevates both his subject matter and most importantly, his viewer…. Having worked closely with thousands of works of art and thousands of artists over the past 25 years, I can give no greater compliment to James Tughan’s work than to say that remember each and every piece . . . vividly” piece….Vividly.”
David Saltmarche, See Spot Run Inc.
“He is an abstract thinker with a significant ability to explore the theoretical concepts underlying the visual arts as a means of communication. At the same time, he is an outstanding in his practice of creating art. Moreover, he has a keen interest in nurturing and mentoring others in such a way as to encourage the development of their unique gifts and styles rather than as means of imposing his own theories. I see him very much as a man of vision and commitment to art who possesses significant leadership potential.”
Terry Boone, Retired dramatic arts and literature teacher
” Jim was recommended to me as a skilled visual artist and I found him to be highly talented in this regard….Jim, however possesses a faculty uncommon to those who create visual works. His thought processes operate in a linear fashion.. .the logical mode used by lawyers, accountants and business people .”
Paul Ogden : Communications Counsel and Practice Inc
” I knew him as one of Canada’s best illustrators, but I had no idea of his other abilities. James took a loosely and poorly organized association, CAPIC, and gave it a solid and superbly organized structure… This has made a major contribution to the association’s growth and success.”
Karen Visser:, Medical Illustrator and (currently) Fine Artist
“James Tughan is an artist who understands the need to recover a narrative approach within the visual arts, He also understands the emotional and psychological power of symbol and metaphor. His insight, technical skill, and creative ability to articulate a distinctly Christian view of the human condition, is at once truthful, revelational, and relevant to contemporary sensibilities. He is a unique and prophetic voice, to a post-modern world of illusive dreams, and competing narratives.”
Colin Harbinson, President Stoneworks , on The Dreaming of Lions Project
Down through the past two thousand years of art that desire to see Jesus’ face has outweighed the obvious problem. And we are stuck with “portraits” of Jesus that look like Charles Manson. A few years ago I became friends with a man named, Amir. He was thirty three. He is an Israeli. He is a carpenter. Looking for a model?
Well, good news. James Tughan has given us what we’ve been waiting for. It’s a psychological portrait of Christ that trades the wrong face for the right heart. When you wake in the night and hear your lover breathe you don’t need to turn on the light to see who it is. Elijah did not respond to all the pyrotechnics and fuss, but he knew the barely audible voice like the one on the pillow.
The London art critic, Jonathan Jones, said “real art is elusive, complex, ambiguous and difficult”. This is pretty good art. Tughan knows his subject well and he knows his craft. For the past three decades he has been regarded internationally as the leading artist in his medium, chalk pencil. It’s a merciless medium that demands discipline and labour. You could say the same about trauma.
Now here’s where it ramps up. In one way or another, like it or not, all art is a self portrait. Everyone Rembrandt painted had his mouth. So, Tughan is looking for trouble when he draws a psychological portrait of Christ. Who do you think gets reflected? This is not a final, nor a complete, nor a definitive portrait, it’s a highly personal portrait, deep and raw. This is what it looks like when Tughan walks past Jesus in the hallway of trauma. They recognize each other, they know the look. There are reasons they are both there. Both are way too familiar with trauma. But here’s the thing, Jesus is there by choice, and he comes there in authority, an Authority that reaches out of that cramped hallway, out past the far measureless cosmos.
Now here’s where it ramps up. In one way or another, like it or not, all art is a self portrait. Everyone Rembrandt painted had his mouth. So, Tughan is looking for trouble when he draws a psychological portrait of Christ. Who do you think gets reflected? This is not a final, nor a complete, nor a definitive portrait, it’s a highly personal portrait, deep and raw. This is what it looks like when Tughan walks past Jesus in the hallway of trauma. They recognize each other, they know the look. There are reasons they are both there. Both are way too familiar with trauma. But here’s the thing, Jesus is there by choice, and he comes there in authority, an Authority that reaches out of that cramped hallway, out past the far measureless cosmos.
Terry Black, painter and filmmaker on Nine Faces of Christ
BELOW: Sam Martin’s Review in IMAGE JOURNAL, Issue 98
JAMES TUGHAN 