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James Armstrong - Born: 7 May 1944email:armstro7@hotmail.com Exhibition at ASTT: December 2005- click here
Jim held his first one-man exhibition in 1965 at the Scarborough library. This exhibition was well received, and as was the practice with young artists at the time, many of the works were simply given to friends and relatives. In subsequent years his works were included in national exhibitions in Trinidad and abroad, as well as in Brazil, Ottawa, Toronto and Expo 67 in Montreal. Nonetheless, the pursuit of art was generally seen as a part-time engagement and there was little encouragement to take this up as a full-time career. In fact, at the time the idea of being an artist was often frowned upon, as was the idea of playing the tenor steel pan for which he also had an inclination. After much agony Jim decided in 1967 to shelve the idea of pursuing a career in art and instead migrated to North America to study environmental design and urban/regional planning. He obtained a Ph.D. in the latter and joined the employ of the United Nations in 1975 with a view to eventually return to painting full-time. The demands of a UN career did not always allow for much painting. However, he continued to paint as time permitted and exhibited through the years in various parts of the world to which he was posted. Just over half of his UN career was spent in Africa during which time he studied and collected African art. He has one of the finest collections of African sculpture in Trinidad and Tobago. If pressed, Jim describes his basic style of painting as impressionist. However, he does not like the idea of being pigeonholed into a specific style. He has been prone to produce quite abstract paintings depending on his mood and yearning for creative exploration and expression. In recent years he has produced works which have shown an influence of African motifs. Perhaps, as M.P. Alladin once said of him, "his works can be best recognized by his use of colour." Jim advises that even this is no longer always predictable.
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James Armstrong, or "Jim" as he is commonly known, is a self taught artist who hails from Tobago. He began painting at about the age of twelve just after entering high school. His early interest in painting was influenced by his grandmother, Teacher Willie, (Wilhelmena Armstrong) whom he had often watched drawing pictures to assist with lessons for her elementary school charges. At the time Jim did not have access to conventional painting materials and used left over household paints on various surfaces, including discarded glass panes and board.
