James was born in Scotland in 1944, and studied painting at the Glasgow School of Art 1963 – 1967, under the tutorage of Scottish artists William Armour and David Donaldson. James paints predominantly landscapes, figurative and portrait works, in watercolour, oils and mixed media.  He has received many awards for his work including the RGI in 2003, Reid Kerr Painting Award and PAI in 2006.  He has exhibite estensively with the Royal Glasgow Institute (RGI), Royal Scottish Watercolour Society (RSW), Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) and the Paisley Art Institute (PAI).  He was elected to the RSW in 2003.
His wonderfully evocative and vigorous work has established a huge collector base, and private collectors include HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, The Royal Collection, Holyrood Palace, King Hussein Family Private collection and Glasgow City Chambers.