James Brereton was born in 1954 in Derby where he went on to study art at the Joseph Wright Art School.

He spent most of the 1970s in a job he disliked in the gas industry but continued painting during his spare time. By 1979 James was selling enough of his paintings to give up his job and become a professional artist.

James painted many scenes in his early career including coastal scenes, still life, townscapes, figurative and some landscape, but having lived by the sea in Charminster near Bournemouth on the south coast of England, he settled on marine as his genre of choice, working mainly in oils to create his beautiful seascapes and sunsets.

Three years ago, James suffered a bout of ill health including a stroke and a dislocation of his painting arm. Not to be put off, he started to paint again as soon as he could and through persistence and hard work he is now back to his usual standards.

He draws influence from the greats of this specialized field of painting, Thomas Somerscales, Montague Dawson and Charles Dixon. His favourite subjects are deep-water sailing ships of the nineteenth century. Notable for his exhaustive attention to detail and love of the vessels, under sail and steam, of yesteryear, James is a leader in his field. In all, he has painted more than 3,000 pictures – a lifetime’s output for many artists.