His work keeps viewers guessing
Upon looking at James Mulvania’s artwork, one cannot help but wonder where his dreams take him.
His acrylic painting “Rivers of Radiance” is a dark night with a bright moon, a glowing river, and the silhouette of a tree with sparkling leaves hanging on to the season. “Contemplation” is a mountain goat navigating its environment and “Aquifer” is birds in a crisp frozen oasis.
His digitally designed and rendered pieces are three dimensional and pull a viewer into Mulvania’s imagination which, like his artwork, has a huge range.
His artwork has been described as “peaceful, calm, fresh, surreal, wild and weird,” and while many artists settle on a particular style, Mulvania keeps people guessing.
“When people view the wide range of my work they are likely to be left guessing as to what subject matter I will be working with next,” he said, “I feel that my creative diversity reflects my interest in exploring new ways to think about and create visual media.”
Mulvania, 43, has been painting and drawing since an early age, when he also began skiing. Later, he went on to compete in alpine and freestyle competitions and mountain climbing. “I feel that one of the biggest influences that helped shape my sense of artistic style has been what I have witnessed in unpredictable alpine environments.” Landscapes often find their way into his work and when they do, he said they often offer either a peaceful or disturbing alternate view of this or perhaps another world.
Mulvania has college degrees in graphic communication and resort and commercial recreation. His other worldly visions have graced designs for Fairchild Air Force Base and the U.S. Olympic Committee, and he has taught Web design, multimedia and game development at Spokane Community College and ITT. He recently began working for a new company creating designs for computer games.
Not too long ago, Mulvania sold his Spokane Valley home and moved into his parents’ home in Deer Park, where he will stay until he finds a new home in the Valley. He is in a period of transition and exploring the possibilities. Though he has enjoyed success as a commercial graphic artist and multimedia designer for many years, he has only begun to make his personal, traditional and digital media work public.
He showed his work at Avenue West Gallery in downtown Spokane and currently has a limited number of pieces on display and for sale at Art, Music and More in the Spokane Valley Mall.
Mulvania’s ability to master a host of mediums mixed with his own imagination make the possibilities endless. He hopes one day to become an artistic or creative director for a related company. “For now,” he said, “I am living in the moment and doing my best to take what I have in front of me to hopefully build a bright personal and professional future.”