Interview With The Artist: James Chaney

By: Courtney Glover McElwee  

Today I interviewed the deviantArt artist James Chaney. James, or JcoolArts on dA, was born in Arizona. He’s been drawing since he was about 3 or 4 years old. James told me that he didn’t really start intentionally practicing until 2012. There was a long period in his life where he didn’t draw much at all. “I regret that in hindsight, but everything has its reason, I suppose.”

The first type of art he was able to draw consistently were mazes. Big 8.5 by 11 mazes that looked like squishy brains, according to James. “I still will make one every now and again if bored, but people never really want to tackle my mazes though because of their extreme difficulty.

His very first inspiration was Bob Ross. Other inspirations of his include Tim Burton and a few other artists from deviantArt. “One day I was sitting in the car drawing a Tim Burton inspired graveyard on some scrap paper. I looked down and I saw something I actually liked personally.” It was around then that he thought about, “what if I would make a good artist?”

When asked about his favorite subject to draw, he replied, “Flowers probably hold the top spot on the list of my favorite things to draw. None of them ever have to be perfect to be beautiful and bring us happiness in their short and delicate lives. They come in such a wide variety, that I don’t think I could ever tire of drawing them.”

His favorite drawing tools are mechanical pencils, a plain 0.5 with a good eraser and a mid range lead. He’s seldom without one. When asked why, he said “It can give me a lot of versatility.”

He’s currently into many different types of art. “I think for me, just focusing on one medium or subject would be stifling. It’s important to take inspiration when it comes for what it is.”

“One of the perks about being an artist, (and I'll mention this because there are a fair amount of downsides that I can think of) is that your hands can become a second mouth when you wish to speak and cannot find the words. Recently, I have not been utilizing this perk as much as I could and should. Looking to the future, I hope to find my way back to the root of it.”

His gallery is full of beautiful and creatively distinct artwork. I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing James. His insight on art was very refreshing and his words very wise. Check out his art gallery on deviantArt, you won’t be disappointed.