Featured Does anyone know an artist called 'M James'?

Discussion in 'Art' started by Kevin777, May 6, 2020.

  1. Kevin777

    Kevin777 New Member

    Hi Everyone,

    I bought a oil painting by an artist called 'M James' in a charity shop at Rhos on Sea, North Wales last year. It has the address of the Phoenix Gallery in Liverpool on the back of the frame (a place that someone else has recently mentioned on this message board). It's a rather large painting of a lighthouse on the coastline and it's approximately 24 x 28 inches. It's a really nice piece and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this artist.

    I would be most grateful for any information received.

    Kind Regards.

    - Kevin.
     
  2. clutteredcloset49

    clutteredcloset49 Well-Known Member

    Hi Kevin -
    Welcome to the board.

    If you have a phone, take photos, email them to yourself as medium, save them, then upload from there.

    People will want to see the painting, the back and a closeup of the signature.
     
  3. Kevin777

    Kevin777 New Member

    Thanks for the good advice, I'm new to this site and I basically haven't got a clue what I'm doing! This is the painting that I mentioned...
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: May 8, 2020
  4. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

  5. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Good morning, Kevin! I very much suspect that yours is a decorative painting, in which case the name of the artist isn't of import. Meant to be hung and enjoyed. If I had to guess, I'd think 1970s but perhaps a tad later (although pre-1995 per the previous thread.) Here's the location of The Phoenix Gallery; not exactly where one would expect to buy fine art. The work discussed on the previous thread was an inexpensive reproduction print.

    Debora

    cbk.jpg
     
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  6. Kevin777

    Kevin777 New Member

    Thanks for your quick reply and also your words of wisdom Debora. I didn't for a moment think it was a piece of fine art, that was worth a fortune but it's always nice to find out something about an artist, especially when you have one of their painting on the wall of your house. I live in Liverpool and I had never even heard of the Phoenix Gallery until recently tbh. We do have some nice galleries here but they are mainly situated in the centre of the city.
     
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  7. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    Of course, you'd be curious. But paintings like yours are typically commercially-made where the artist's name is a nom de brosse.

    Debora
     
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  8. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    You could phone the Framers/Gallery up Kevin, M James could have had several of his/her work framed or sold there.
     
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  9. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    Welcome to Antiquers, Kevin!
     
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  10. Kevin777

    Kevin777 New Member

    I think the Phoenix Gallery has closed now, so unfortunately I can't get any info from there and that's a real shame because it would have been so nice to find out some details about Mr / Ms James... I was hoping he / she would be from my hometown of Liverpool or maybe even my ancestral home in Wexford, Ireland.

    I have a real interest in paintings and during this lockdown period I have been looking online for examples of interesting artwork. I particularly like Aboriginal paintings because they are both imaginative and unique. Has anyone on this forum got any good advice about buying artwork from charity shops, second hand shops or online etc because I'm very much a novice when it comes to that kind of thing but some tips from people more knowledgeable about the subject would be most welcome.

    Kind Regards

    - Kevin.
     
  11. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    Have a browse through the Art forum here and the previous Finds.
    It will give you info on Factory art, prints, etchings, etc.
    I’ve found some reasonably good stuff in the Charity Shops and Jumble sales here in U.K. . In fact my avatar here is an 1826 Oil on canvas portrait I paid a fiver for at a Church bric a brac sale a few years ago.
    Take a loupe with you when going shopping so you will know about litho printing dots compared to original paintings.
    Let’s hope we can all go out shopping again fairly soon:)
     
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  12. Kevin777

    Kevin777 New Member

    Thanks for taking the time to reply and I will definitely take all of your excellent advice onboard. We have over 250 charity shops around the Merseyside area and the ones in more affluent areas like Southport, Formby and Woolton are my favourites because rich people tend to donate items that could be worth money... the charity shops in places like Huyton, Old Swan and Speke are also very good for general purchases but not many people donate any paintings, etchings or prints there.

    The painting on your avatar looks like something that would be displayed on the walls of Buckingham Palace and the frame is absolutely magnificent, It looks heavy too and I would probably struggle to even lift that up! I haven't been to a Church bric a brac sale since I was a kid but I will be looking out for them in the future because they seem like a good place to spot some good finds.

    Regarding the loupe, I will definitely be investing in one of them ASAP because I can see how invaluable it could be. I just hope things are back up and running in the UK soon because I miss being able to browse the shops for bargains... and I also miss the pubs!
     
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  13. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    Hi Kevin,
    My painting looks big but it’s only about 14 inches high Including the frame. It’s not in the same league as Her Majesty’s finest but has a lot of charm.
    I had an auntie and cousins who lived in Speke, Liverpool 24. The rest of the rellies came from the ‘Holy Land’ Streets, Dingle. We always had a lot of fun visiting.
    I live in the east of England now, Norwich. I’m still in touch with a Liverpool Uncle and Cousins though, but they no longer live in Speke.
    I tend to go for the jewellery in the charity shops, there are still some staff who don’t know or don’t check what they put out in the shop. You get to know which ones are better for finds.
    My best items have come from the jumbles but can’t see social distancing working there so I think the C shops may be possible after lockdown until there’s a vaccine. Roll on that day!!
    As I say, people on Antiquers have found some terrific items from house clearances, auctions, car boots etc that you can see in the Finds.
     
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  14. Kevin777

    Kevin777 New Member

    That painting looks absolutely massive but it must be an optical illusion! I know Speke very well because my best mate lives near to John Lennon airport and I have spent many fine evenings in the St Ambrose social club. The first item that I ever sold on eBay was bought from a charity shop there... it was a crombie style overcoat that cost me £5 and it was sold to someone in Blackburn for about £50.

    I saw a BBC documentary about The Dingle a few months ago and it was really interesting. It's an iconic part of Liverpool and the Scouse accent is as thick as the Mersey in that part of the city... I think Ringo Starr was born in one of the streets that were built by Welsh labourers but he probably hasn't been back to that area for many years.

    I don't know too much about Norwich to be honest but I hear it's a nice place... the nearest I ever got to there was Ipswich. Me and a school friend called Stevie hitchhiked there in about 1984 to watch a football match and I think the round trip took us about 14 hours!

    I have never bought any jewellery from a charity shop but it's definitely something that I will be doing in the future. I have done well selling retro games in the past but it's getting more and more difficult to get decent items like that now because several tv programmes are telling people what to buy for maximum profit and even Loose Women had a segment about savvy shopping for second hand items recently.

    The last few months have been a total nightmare and most of my stuff has been sold now. I desperately need to replenish stock but that's gonna be difficult because of the social distancing measures that you mentioned... I will be having a good luck at the finds section of this forum and I fully intend to visit lots of car boot sales, auctions and jumble sales when this crisis is finally over.
     
  15. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    My Dad came from Moses Street, no longer there, Mum came from Isaac Street over the road. Some cousins lived in Elwy Street where I think Ringo lived. Our Auntie lived in Conleach Road In Speke, it was a bit rough there, don’t know what it’s like now!
    I sell a few bits on Gumtree, well I did until the lockdown. I’ve had dealers buy from me in the past. Sometimes people want to get rid of stuff for free so you could check the freebies section and see if there’s anything there that might do.
    Good luck!
     
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  16. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    Just looked it up Ringo was over the road from Elwy Street and lived in Madryn Street. Also it was Moville Street Dad came from not Moses. There’s a big Tesco there now, used to be a Leo’s supermarket.
     
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  17. Kevin777

    Kevin777 New Member

    There was always a good community spirit in the Dingle but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore because things seem to be changing very quickly in that part of Liverpool and I didn't recognise the place the last time I was down there. Ringo got out of the city once The Beatles hit the big time and he has been very harshly criticised for that because it would have been really difficult to remain here with all that fame... People forget that the rest of the band also up sticks and moved away.

    I know Conleach Road well because my mate lives on Dam Wood Road, which is right next to it (it's a small world!). Speke has improved a lot during the last past few years and I think the Jaguar car plant has a lot to do with that because it employs plenty of local people and invests in the area. There's a large Morrisons supermarket there now and several other well known retail outlets too.

    I've never sold on Gumtree but it's certainly something that I wanna look into because it's important to keep all options open in this day and age... I have mainly just traded on eBay & Amazon in the past but I have become a bit disillusioned with both recently and a fresh approach is needed.

    Thanks for all the brilliant advice and good luck with your all your future endeavours.
     
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