James Lavadour

Native American artist James Lavadour paints expansive, gestural landscapes inspired by the Blue Mountains that surround his home on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon. His aim is to create paintings that do not mimic the landscape, but instead embody the same energy as the geologic formations he knows intimately - their erosion patterns, textural rhythm, and dimensional mass. Lavadour has stated, "I can see now in my life that it is attainable for a brief moment of existence in this world to create a work of art that is truly a shining, transcendental thing, that is sustaining, that gives energy." This publication discusses Lavadour's life and philosophy as they relate to his artistic development and includes extensive quotations from recent interviews with the author.