Beatrice F R James is a Fine and Sporting Artist specialising in equestrian portraiture and a member of the Society of Equestrian Artists. Her work is traditional; however, it expresses a contemporary edge through hints of bright colour which brings a liveliness to her paintings. Beatrice createss a sense of timelessness and gravitas in her work, so that they may be enjoyed for hundreds of years to come. She combines techniques of Old Masters as well as experimenting with her own, which is evident in her unique style.

Her work is quintessentially English, driven by her fascination for the horse and capturing its’ poetry in paint and the relationship with the horse and landscape. Every detail of her work is considered, from creating compositions from a number of different sketches, to the scale of canvas and frame for each painting.

Being based in England’s Hampshire countryside, Beatrice observes the horses which feature as the main subjects of her work, from racehorses to hunters, polo ponies and privately owned horses. She collects studies at hunt and point to point meets, polo matches and the races which aid in her working process back in the studio. By sketching at such events, an immediacy and spontaneity is captured on paper which is then translated into paint in her studio. Following the hunt allows her to study the character and interaction of both hounds and people with horses. By spending time in the company of her subjects, it allows her to convey a sense of the animal’s soul, set in the atmospheric landscapes she knows and loves so well. The transience and nuance of light as it flickers off horses’ coats and bathes landscapes are captured through subtle contrasts of tone.