Ralph Grady James Woodlawn, VA

Growing up in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, Ralph Grady James spent his days in creative pursuits both in the nearby Appalachian Mountains and North Carolina’s picturesque Outer Banks. Now surrounded by the beauty of Virginia’s mountains, he continues those pursuits through his work. Ralph attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in high school and later Indiana University to major in music. Although heavily involved in his study of music, he also had a passion for the visual arts. Besides various current and historical artists whom he admires, Ralph’s original incentive came from his father, who was an artist as well as an architect and structural engineer.

Ralph has developed and refined his talents to include all genre of painting. Whether still life, figurative, landscape, or wildlife, he describes the setting with a light infused atmosphere that forms his subjects. Indeed, the portrayal of light is of utmost importance to him. Inspiration comes from everyday life, urban settings, and America’s natural habitat which Ralph has a deep love for.

Ralph’s creations adorn the walls of private homes as well as public collections, including the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wisconsin, which houses the internationally acclaimed “Birds in Art” exhibit.

Ralph states that Georgia O’Keeffe spoke for him when she said, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.”