I began this series of works during the summer of 2006, and completed two paintings before pretty much giving up on painting altogether. If and when I return to the brushes and palates, I’ll pick up where I left off.

L.S.F. Patron Saint of Lushes and Kittens

K.I.! Patron Saint of IPAs and Lengthy Walks

The Mario Veda, a series of works executed between March of 2004 and May of 2006,  illustrates what I believe to be an evolution in my intellectual and emotional development, and may represent some of the self knowledge I gained  while living in Springfield, Illinois. Initially a reference to a set of characters from video games on the Nintendo platform, the characters quickly evolved, becoming stand-ins for particular situations and experiences. I’ll leave the particulars to your imagination.

Big Mario & Coin SMB1 (Get that Money Mayne)

Big Mario & Onion SMB2

Big Mario & Cherry SMB2

Fire Mario SMB3 (Annos de Soledad)

Racoon Mario SMB3

Fire Mario & the Princess (Loves Labors Lost)

Mario’s Underwater Adventure

Mario’s Underwater Adventure (detail)

Cactus Dude & the Sun King

Wart (SMB2) as Dido

The Princess (3rd state)

Serial Monogamy

Modern Romance

Three Years in Springfield, Illinois

The Dating Game! featuring your host, James Cockroft!

Two Virgins

The … Read More »

Here (and in no particular order) you’ll find a bunch of random stuff—early work, academic paintings, and a few prints—that didn’t really fit anywhere else.

Fibonacci Lamp

Fibonacci Lamp, alternate view

Infested

Infested (Special Widescreen Edition)

Glazed Life

Still Life with Rotted Banana

Interior Scene

KaiKai KiKi News

Untitled

Fehler Macht Frei

Self Portrait #2

Self Portrait #1

Tetris, Level 1

Tetris, Level 2

Tetris, Level 3

Tetris, Level 4

Wax On/Wax Off: a method of practicing a particular punch blocking technique, developed by the fictional martial arts master Kesuke Miyagi; also a series of paintings I executed in June and July of 2005. I silkscreened wooden panels and then covered them with encaustic (a mixture of oil paint or construction chalk, beeswax and paraffin). In the triptychs, the patterns symbolize three responses to questions posed in the title of the work: yes, maybe, no.

Untitled #1

Untitled #2

Untitled #3 (Harlequin)

Untitled #4 (In a Landscape)

Untitled #5

Untitled #6 (Chain Link Fence/Starry Night)

Untitled #7 (Candy)

Untitled #8

Untitled #9

Untitled #10

Untitled #11

Emotional Rollercoaster (tryptich)

Is James Happy? (triptych)

Meat is Murder (triptych)

The Three Jameses (triptych)

Will You Go Out with Me? (triptych)

Ohne Titel (diptych)

This short series of paintings, executed in the Spring of 2005, was inspired by  the Abstraktes Bild series of paintings by Gerhard Richter. I used a set of putty knives to apply thin layers of acrylic paint to dry-erase marker board, resulting in the illusion of depth and creating a striking luminous effect.

Untitled #1

Untitled #2 (Luncheon on the Grass (after Manet))

Untitled #3 (Hee-Zee fo’ Shee-Zee)

Untitled #4 (Out of Bounds)

Untitled #5 (Black & Tan Fantasy)

Untitled #6 (Pink is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair)

Untitled #7 (Once Emerged from the Green of Night)

Untitled #8 (I Love Gold!)

Untitled #9 (Harmony in Green)