Trained as a Commercial Artist. I've spent a great deal of time teaching myself to paint in a style that feels comfortable to me.The subjects that I choose to paint are usually connected to nature in one way or another. Although I live in a large city now, I just haven't found much "city stuff" that I feel like painting yet. My choice of subject matter and reason for painting are not to impart any deep philosophical meaning to the viewer. I paint because I have to. And I paint what I like. On March 14th, 2008 a tornado ripped through the Cabbagetown area of Atlanta, Georgia that I currently call home. The tornado destroyed my home/studio and with it many of the paintings that I have completed over the past 20 plus years. The Archive section of this site contains some of my favorite paintings that were destroyed by the tornado. James S. Durtschi