My name is James Maas. I'm fifty-three years old. I've have been painting with oil, acrylic, and watercolor paints since I was in sixth grade. I live in Lombard Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I learned painting and art history in high school and continued learning at Northern Illinois University.
I have worked as a mural artist for the past fifteen years. In this time I have become well acquainted to the creative process. I have learned how to visualize a client’s idea, compose that idea into a working rendering, and complete the actual work. I have completed a number of residential as well as public murals. Three of my murals grace the walls of a Church. I have painted three-dimensional public artwork for two towns. In June of 2012 I painted a mural for a railroad embankment beautification project in Oak Park, Illinois.
I believe the power of artwork lies in its ability for storytelling. Since the time of the cave dwellers, man has used artwork to express ideas, or dreams in a way that the entire community could understand and share. My approach to painting is representational, yet not hyper-realistic.