Spotlight on James Ayers – Painter of Native American Cultures

Although not native American himself, James Ayers is heralded as the painter of “Historic American Indian Culture”. Using Native American models and learning from them for decades, James says, “You might think gathering all my data for a painting means spending my time in museums or with my nose in a reference book. I conduct research, of course, but my secret to successfully representing cultures from yesterday is to draw inspiration from people of today. To that end, I rely on both visual input from models and narrative input from stories by people who have experience with traditional life ways.

“My paintings of historic Native American cultures offer a glimpse into yesterday: You can see what people wore, what tools and weapons they used, or what activities they undertook in their daily lives.”  

Apache model LeAnn Murphy says of James, “Your work makes me proud of my heritage—even when I see a painting from a culture that isn’t my own. I am proud of my connection as a Native American when a see a warrior’s strong face and beautiful coloring.”

It’s worth a special trip to see James’ masterful depictions of these cultures. Click here to see these masterpieces.