About Jim Manning

I am a self-taught figurative artist working mainly in acrylics. I came to painting late after a life spent blundering about in pursuit of other dreams, unaware that I was a painter. I guess my journey is reflected in my work. Some of the characters in my pictures move through the internal landscapes of dreams on spiritual journeys while others appear trapped in curious circumstances where they struggle with enigmatic problems. The images tend to be produced intuitively and may defy straightforward explanation.

Some images begin with an idea, some evolve from doodles - in either case I don't know where these ideas or images come from, and so, clearly, I am not the source, merely the channel.  Sometimes I have my own interpretation of an image, sometimes I have no clue what an image is about and sometimes it only becomes clear much later. Often someone else will have a completely different interpretation of what a picture is about than the one in my head and I really like that. I hope when people see my paintings that they feel an emotional connection with the subject matter, that they recognise the pain in the darker pieces and feel lifted by the spirit of the lighter ones.

I have sold work in local galleries and have had exhibitions in Teignmouth and Exeter as well as doing commission work.

I am happy to take commissions, so please feel free to get in touch.