http://www.jamesdarum.com/; James Darum has spent more than half a century in Arizona. Born in Evansville, Indiana, he moved here with his family as a teenager. After studying commercial art at Northern Arizona University he began his career as an illustrator. His early explorations in watercolor have way to the right colors of acrylics, the medium he has preferred ever since. Darum’s mature sensibility as an artist is reflected in his rare ability to represent exaggerated, whimsical characters without devolving into caricature. The outrageous style and sass of his cowboys never undermines the obvious esteem in which he holds them. His unerring capacity to reflect what we read into mythic figures renders his creations astute character studies – about us. James Darum’s work has found homes around the world from bar rooms to board rooms. His paintings make their own unique statements in a language that is universally understood. Clean, crisp and uncluttered, they fit easily into almost any decorative scheme.