James is an associate member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) and a member of The Manchester Academy of Fine Art (MAFA). His seascape and landscape paintings have been awarded the Charles Pears Award and the Sir Peter Scott Award. Work has also been commissioned by the Sunday Times, the British Tourist Authority, BBC Holidays, Christies and Bonhams. He travels regularly around the British coast, and is particularly interested in the changing moods of the sea and more specifically the colour and the light that create those moods.