Artist Bio

The artist, born in 1949, spent his childhood among sailboats and garveys on the New Jersey coastal waters of Toms River and Barnegat Bay. Primarily a self-taught artist, he has experimented with various media, including acrylics, water colors, pencil & ink and snow and sand sculpture. His primary medium today is oil on linen. For two years he lived on Martha’s Vineyard concentrating on painting the land and seascapes that make this island oasis so alluring to the artist seeking luminosity. He has studied under the late contemporary realist Dominique Rickard and renowned marine artist Don Demers, and is also strongly influenced by the works of John Stobart and Richard Schmid.  

An avid sailor, Lawless has extensively cruised the waters of the northeast and raced his 35' cutter Spináche in several Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Races finishing 4th in class in 1993, 1995 and 1999, and taking first overall honors in 2001. Over the last 40 years, sailing excursions from as far north as Maine all the way to the Caribbean and the southwest coast have inspired works depicting present and past scenes of these romantic waters. 

Lawless’s first recognition as a serious marine artist came in 1988 when his acrylic painting of the historic vessel Nantucket Lightship won honorable mention in the Sea Heritage Marine Art Contest and was exhibited at South Street Seaport in New York City. Two years later, Moonlight on Nantucket-1901, an oil painting of the side wheel steamer named for the island, entering Nantucket harbor under a full moon, took third place in the 1990 Sea Heritage Marine Art Contest and was on exhibit at Smith Gallery on Madison Ave in New York. In the summer of 1998 he began selling his plain air marine paintings on the streets, beaches and galleries of Martha’s Vineyard. His marine paintings soon began receiving accolades in many shows and competitions around the country. 

In 2001 following a portfolio review by the American Society of Marine Artists (A.S.M.A.), Lawless received Signature Member status. In 2004 Menemsha-No Hurry was chosen for the prestigious ASMA 13th National Exhibition. In 2005, his oil Naples-Morning Arrival was voted “The Peoples Choice” in the Naples, FL Wet Paint Auction. In 2014 Lawless was honored again when the ASMA chose Baguette for their 16th National Exhibition. Then in 2019 Menemsha 251, an oil capturing the effect of the evening’s sun on the pilot house of a commercial fishing trawler, was selected for ASMA’s Western Regional Exhibition at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum in Oxnard, CA. From there it went directly on a coast to coast two year tour of four major maritime museums as part of ASMA’s 18th National Exposition, the third such ASMA honor for this artist! Most recently two of Lawless’s oils were selected by the ASMA for the very prestigious “Modern Marine Masters” exhibit at the Palm Avenue Fine Art gallery in Sarasota, FL in March, 2025!

Lawless’s works have also exhibited at Painter’s Tavern in Cornwall, NY, the Lycian Center in Sugar Loaf, NY and Helen Hayes Hospital in Haverstraw, NY. Galleries that have carried his original oils include the John Stobart Gallery in Edgartown, MA, the Noroton Gallery in Darien, CT, the Granary Gallery in West Tisbury, on Martha’s Vineyard, the J. Todd Gallery in Wellesley, MA, and the Chatham Fine Art Gallery on Cape Cod.

American Artist Magazine featured Lawless' artistic development and philosophy in a May 2006 article titled "Transitioning Into Fine Art" written by Editor-in-Chief M. Stephen Doherty (see Links)

J.A.V.M.A. (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association) chose Dr. Lawless’ oil “Love At First Sight”, as the cover art for the June 15, 2019 issue (see News & Events)

The artist currently exhibits his original oils at:

CHATHAM FINE ART, 492 Main St, Chatham, MA 02633 508-945-0888  www.chathamart.com

Limited edition prints, signed and numbered, are available directly through:

LAWLESS GALLERY, 39 Academy Ave, Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY 12520 ~ 845-534-8001

Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA) since 2001

www.americansocietyofmarineartists.com

website: www.lawlessgallery.com  

email: spinache@aol.com 

 Facebook: James M. Lawless, ASMA  

APRIL 2025